Donbass: Situation goes out of control as Donetsk militia open return fire on the Ukrainian military

The people's militia of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk reported that they had returned fire on the positions of the Ukrainian security forces, the press service of the department said in its Telegram channel.

Representatives for the People's Republic of Donetsk said that since the beginning of the day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have violated the ceasefire four times. According to the department, the Ukrainian military fired grenade launchers and small arms in the direction of the villages of Kominternovo and Oktyabr. The villages of Petrivske and Novolaspa also came under fire.

"In order to protect the civilian population, our defenders were forced to return fire to suppress the enemy's firepower,” the People's Militia of the People's Republic of Donetsk said.

Information about the injured civilians and destroyed infrastructure facilities is being specified. The department called on international observers to record facts of ceasefire violations.

Earlier, the People's Militia of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Luhansk announced the aggravation of the crisis on the contact line in the Donbass. On the morning of February 17, the Armed Forces of Ukraine opened fire on five settlements of the People's Republic of Luhansk.

Kremlin: Crisis in Donbass is aggravating

Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the state of affairs in the Donbass was aggravating. Kiev has intensified its provocative actions in the Donbass region during the recent days, Peskov added.

"There is a high risk of escalation from the realm of information attacks to consequences that will cause a new outbreak of war in the immediate vicinity of our borders,” Peskov said.

"Over the past 24 hours, we have heard reports saying that Russia has retained a huge strike potential on the border, but it goes about the territory of our own. Yet, no one, not a single Western representative, talks about the huge strike potential of the Ukrainian armed forces on the demarcation line. Coupled with provocative actions that have only intensified in the last day or several days, this is a very, very dangerous situation,” Putin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov also said that Russia's "opponents" do not notice Kiev's aggressive aspirations.

Earlier, Dmitry Peskov announced a high probability that the armed forces of Ukraine would attack the unrecognized republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

According to Reuters, the OSCE has recorded numerous incidents of artillery shelling along the line of contact. According to the source, the OSCE receives reports of artillery shelling from both sides. Representatives for the Armed Forces of Ukraine refused to comment on this information.