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Kiev is building up forces near with contact line in Donbass - DPR command

Two Ukrainian Tochka-U missile systems have been pulled to the territory of the Avdeevka, six more such systems were delivered to a railway station in the village of Novobakhmutovka near Yasinovataya

DONETSK, February 5. /TASS/. Ukraine’s army command has pulled more forces and weapons to the line of contact in Donbass instead of pulling them out as the Contact Group demands, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the operations command of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on Sunday.

"Ukraine’s military political command has refused to implement the Minsk agreements and pull out heavy weapons from the line of contact. Instead, it is building up forces in the area. We observe concentration of Ukrainian troops and weapons at the contact line preparing for an offensive," the Donetsk News Agency quoted him as saying.

According to Basurin, two Ukrainian Tochka-U missile systems have been pulled to the territory of the Avdeevka coking plant from Kramatorsk. Six more such systems were delivered to a railway station in the village of Novobakhmutovka near Yasinovataya to be "seconded to a mission" later, he said.

According to DPR’s reconnaissance data, two companies of nationalists led by ex-commander of the Right Sector paramilitary corps Dmitry Yarosh arrived to the site of deployment of Ukraine’s 72nd mechanized brigade. Moreover, Ukrainian National Guard units have reportedly arrived in Volnovakha, south of Donetsk.

"An anti-tank artillery division of the 57th mechanized infantry brigade is being pulled to reinforce Ukrainian troops at the Donetsk and Mariupol directions," Basurin said.

Moreover, the 92nd mechanized brigade has been reportedly pulled from the Kharkov region to the conflict zone. Three nationalist Azov battalions have arrived in Mariupol.

"These data make it possible to assume that at the order of Ukraine’s criminal military political authorities, the Ukrainian army command is preparing for an offensive along the entire line of engagement and plotting acts of sabotage at civil infrastructure facilities," the DPR command spokesman stressed.

The situation along the line of contact in Donbass has deteriorated dramatically over the past few days. There are casualties among the civilian population due to the incessant shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces, many dwelling houses and infrastructure facilities have been damaged.

On February 1, the Contact Group on the settlement in eastern Ukraine demanded at a meeting in Minsk an end to hostilities in Donbass and withdrawal of all weapons and equipment along the entire contact line to storage sites by February 5.