TWO blasts have rocked Ukraine just hours after a car belonging to a pro-Russian rebel leader was blown up in a suspected ruse to give Vladimir Putin an excuse for war.
Explosions have reportedly been heard in the Russian separatist city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine just 40 minutes apart amid fears of an “imminent” invasion.
Part of a gas pipeline caught fire late on Friday after being struck by a “powerful explosion”, Interfax news agency reported.
It comes hours after a car bomb was detonated in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.
Major General Denis Sinenkov was not believed to be in his car when the huge blast shook the separatist-held city.
It was feared to be a Kremlin- inspired “false flag” con to give Putin his excuse to invade Ukraine — as his fighting force rose to 190,000.
A security expert in Kyiv said: “It looks like a false flag. They will blame Ukraine but how would they have been able to booby trap it?”
Meanwhile, Joe Biden tonight said he’s “convinced” that Putin has decided to launch a further invasion in Ukraine, including an assault on its capital, Kyiv, as tensions spiked along the militarised border.
“As of this moment I’m convinced he’s made the decision. We have reason to believe that,” the President warned.
US officials said a full-scale invasion, including missile strikes, is expected within days.
Read our Russia Ukraine live blog for the latest updates
Russia’s ambassador to London Andrey Kelin said Moscow “cannot just stand aside” if Russian-speakers were killed where the car exploded.
Earlier, in another suspected ruse, pro-Russian rebels claimed Ukrainians tried to attack a chlorine plant.
They ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands from the self- proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic — starting with women and children.
Rebels claimed to have fought off a Ukrainian strike team — killing at least two people — and released video of a firefight.
Ukrainian leaders insisted that the attack was faked, while analysts claimed the videos had been filmed two days in advance.
