CBS News quoted a US intelligence source as saying that Russian field commanders were ordered to begin the invasion of Ukraine.
For its part, CNN quoted a US official as saying that “an intelligence assessment indicates that 75% of the Russian conventional forces are in an offensive position once morest Ukraine.”
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry issued today a notice to close a large part of the airspace over the Sea of Azov, and attributed this to the presence of “Ukrainian crowds near the border.”
This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in the east of the country, where clashes between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces have increased in recent days.
Zelensky said that Ukraine supports peace talks within the framework of the tripartite contact group, which includes Kiev, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
He added on Twitter: “We support intensifying peace efforts. We support the urgent convening of the tripartite contact group and an immediate ceasefire.”
Recently, tension and battles have increased on the front line in eastern Ukraine, while separatists backed by Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of escalating the conflict.
prohibited weapons
In this context, the Kremlin declared that “developments in the Donbass may lead to irreparable consequences.”
Earlier, the “Joint Center for Monitoring the Ceasefire Regime in the Donetsk Republic”, which is loyal to the separatists, announced on Sunday morning that “Ukrainian artillery forces bombed new targets” in Donetsk “using 120mm calibers.”
The center issued a statement carried by the Russian “Sputnik” news agency, which said: “12 120-mm shells were fired at the Spartak region of the Donetsk Republic, following which 8 120-mm bullets were fired at the Donetsk State Chemical Factory.”
The statement of the pro-Moscow center indicated that the weapons used by the Ukrainian artillery are “prohibited by the Minsk agreements” signed by all parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Stop working at a checkpoint
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said the country had suspended operations at one of seven checkpoints in the separatist-held eastern Donbass region due to intense shelling.
Ukraine’s military said the separatists had fired three times at the Shastya checkpoint on Saturday using mortars and heavy anti-tank grenades, and ceasefire violations by the separatists increased to 136 from 66 on Friday.
Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four wounded on Saturday in the area. The army said that due to “the escalation of the situation…and the inability to guarantee the safety of the civilian population” who use the checkpoint, the command has stopped using it as of Sunday “during the threat period.”
It is reported that officials from the separatist Ukraine had bombed areas they controlled and said they were “forced to respond”.
A member of the separatist militia on the line of contact with the Ukrainian army in Donetsk
More than 1,500 ceasefire violations
This comes as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors announced on Saturday that they… In 24 hours, they recorded more than 1,500 ceasefire violationsThis is the highest number this year.
The monitors said that between Thursday evening and Friday evening they had recorded 591 breaches in Donetsk and 975 in neighboring Lugansk, two regions partly under the control of Moscow-backed separatists.
A map detailing the violations showed that the heaviest fighting is currently taking place in an area northwest of Lugansk, regarding 20 km southeast of the Ukrainian government-controlled city of Severodonetsk.
The map of violations published by the center
For his part, a diplomatic source told “Archyde.com” that the monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe recorded regarding 2,000 violations of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.
The bombing intensified in the eight-year conflict this week, amid fears that Russia is preparing an invasion of Ukraine in response to the latter’s rapprochement with the West.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denis Monastirsky rushed into hiding on Saturday when mortar shells fell hundreds of meters from his whereregardings as he inspected the front line during a tour with reporters.
A “plan” discovered by the separatists
Meanwhile, pro-Russian separatists said on Saturday they had discovered a “plan by Kiev to seize” the territory they control in eastern Ukraine by force and introduced a man they said was a Ukrainian spy. For its part, the Ukrainian authorities confirmed that these allegations are false.
Ukrainian army near the line of contact with separatists in Donetsk
Concerns are growing in Kiev and the West of Fake a fake operation in eastern Ukraine And Russia used it as a pretext to launch an attack.
Russia, which has amassed troops near Ukraine, has denied plans to invade and has refused to talk of fake operations. But she said she was concerned regarding the situation, and separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine began a mass evacuation on Friday, citing fears of a Ukrainian attack.
The Ukrainian authorities deny planning any kind of attack and fear that attempts will increase to create a pretext for a Russian invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Saturday evening that He will not “respond” to Russian “provocations”. In eastern Ukraine, he stressed his readiness for “dialogue” with Moscow.
