“The situation is, in fact, extremely tense. So far we see no signs that the level of tension is diminishing. The provocations and bombardments are becoming increasingly intense,” the official told the media.

Peskov refused to answer a question about the possibility of Russian forces becoming involved in the conflict in Donbass should the authorities of the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) request assistance to deal with the escalation of the conflict.

The crisis along the contact line in the Ukrainian region worsened on February 17th, when the authorities of the territories reported an increase in the volume of artillery fire by Kiev, which has caused damage to civil infrastructure.

This prompted the proclamation of the evacuation of the residents to Russia by the heads of the DPR and LPR due to the growing threat of a possible increase in hostilities and declared general mobilization.

The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, declared that the situation has become critical in the last 24 hours and that residential areas in the territory are being attacked by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and denounced the attack on several towns, including Donetsk and Gorlovka, by the Ukrainian Armed Forces using artillery, grenade launchers and tanks.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) informed the TASS news agency that this Monday a projectile launched from the territory of Ukraine fell on a building belonging to the Russian border guard in the Rostov region, 150 meters from the territorial limit, although no victims were reported. The sappers are working on the scene.

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