ROSTOV-ON-DON, February 20. /TASS/. The Armed Forces of Ukraine can intensify their offensive on the night of February 21 near Donetsk and Lugansk, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky told TASS.

"Right Sector (the organization is banned in the Russian Federation - TASS), the Armed Forces of Ukraine are moving, more and more, towards Lugansk and Donetsk. This suggests that in the near future, this night, the offensive will be intensified," he said.

The situation along the contact line in eastern Ukraine took a turn for the worse on the morning of February 17. The Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics reported some of the most intensive shelling by Kiev forces in recent months. The shelling damaged some civilian facilities.

On Friday, the leaders of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics announced the evacuation of the republics’ inhabitants to Russia, citing the increasing threat of hostilities.