DONETSK, December 22. /TASS/. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, called upon guarantor nations of the Minsk Agreements and international organizations to prevent Kiev from using chemical weapons in Donbass.

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their military buildup next to the line of contact. Ukraine is persistently demonstrating its reluctance to engage in a dialogue with us. The analysis of the situation along the line of contact demonstrates that the adversary is getting ready for new provocations. We call upon guarantor nations of the Minsk Agreements, and international organizations working to promote reconciliation in Donbass, to prevent the use of chemical weapons against civilians. Ukraine is attempting to stage a man-made humanitarian disaster on our soil, which may trigger unpredictable consequences for the entire world," he said in an interview with the Govorit Moskva radio station, quoted by the DPR’s official website.

Pushilin went on to say that Kiev is ready "to sacrifice the lives not only of residents of the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, but also of its own citizens, living in Kiev-controlled areas."

Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said at the ministry’s enlarged board meeting on Tuesday that more than 120 mercenaries from private US military companies were detected in the towns of Avdeevka and Priazovskoye in the Kiev-controlled areas of the Donetsk Region. They are setting up firing points, plotting military operations and training radical armed groups.

According to Shoigu, canisters with unknown chemical substances were delivered to the town of Avdeyevka and the village of Krasny Liman.

Additional measures to control the ceasefire along the contact line in Donbass have been in force since July 27, 2020. However, the situation in Donbass has been escalating since late February 2021, with shootouts reported from the contact line quite frequently and casualties reported on both sides, including among civilians. The situation further escalated after October 13, when Ukrainian security service captured an officer of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) mission to the Joint Control and Coordination Center. DPR and LPR accuse Kiev of deliberately provoking escalation of the conflict.