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Kremlin says Ukrainian military’s offensive in Donbass disrupts Minsk agreements

The Kremlin strongly disagrees with accusations against Russia over aggravation of situation in Donbass

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military’s offensive in Donbass, confirmed by the country’s defense ministry, disrupts the Minsk agreements, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We have heard some statements made by the Ukrainian defense ministry’s representatives, saying that the country’s military units are actually advancing, which means that de-facto it is an offensive," he said. "These actions disrupt the Minsk agreements so it is important that everybody (the world community) calls upon those in Kiev who have launched the offensive to stop provocations," the kremlin spokesman stressed.

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Russia calls on Kiev to immediately stop armed provocations in Donbass

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Igor Pavlovsky de facto recognized that the country’s military had been carrying out an offensive in Donbass. According to him, the Ukrainian troops "are advancing step by step."

Peskov also commented on the report made by the US representative to the OSCE mission who accused Donbass and Russia of escalating the conflict. "We do not agree with such wording, what we see now are provocations being made by the Ukrainian military as well as volunteer units," the Kremlin spokesman said.

The situation along the line of contact in Donbass has been deteriorating in the past few days. The Ukrainian military’s shelling has caused civilian deaths and casualties as well as damaged numerous residential dwellings and infrastructure facilities. On Tuesday night, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko said that military activities had been carried out on a territory stretching for 50 kilometers along the line of control.

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