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The Ukrainian military announced that a soldier was killed in shelling by pro-Russian separatists this morning in eastern Ukraine, where escalating violence this week is raising concerns that it may lead to military action by Russia.
"During shelling, a Ukrainian soldier was fatally wounded by shrapnel," the military command in eastern Ukraine confirmed.
The Ukrainian military said on its Facebook page that it has recorded 19 violations of the ceasefire agreement by separatists this morning compared to 66 cases in the previous 24 hours.
General mobilization was declared in Lugansk and Donetsk
The head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic Leonid Pashchnyk today signed a decree providing for general mobilization.
Pashchnyk simultaneously banned men aged 18 to 55 (i.e. the age at which they can carry weapons) from leaving the region, and allowed the authorities to proceed with the seizure of vehicles and assets of businesses and individuals for defensive purposes.
Earlier, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin also signed a similar decree.
"Dramatic increase" in ceasefire violations
Observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said today that they are seeing a "dramatic increase" in violations of the ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists and government troops have been fighting since 2014.
They recorded a "dramatic increase" in hostilities along the front line, the OSCE said in a statement, assessing that the level of violence has now returned to where it was before the July 2020 agreement to consolidate the ceasefire.
It cited 222 ceasefire violations on the front line in the pro-Russian separatist-controlled Donetsk region, including 135 "explosions", up from 189 on Wednesday and 24 on Tuesday.
In the Lugansk region, also controlled by pro-Russian separatists, the agency reported 648 violations, including 519 "explosions", up from 402 on Wednesday and 129 on Tuesday.
The OSCE "calls on members to strictly adhere to all commitments made and to take all necessary measures to reduce tensions" as well as "to work for an immediate de-escalation for the sake of the innocent civilians on both sides of the front line who continue to suffer because of this conflict," the statement added.
The organisation, of which both Russia and the US are members, deployed an observer mission to Ukraine in 2014, following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the outbreak of war between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine, an area also known as the Donbass. That war has claimed the lives of more than 14,000 people, according to authorities in Kiev.
New explosion
A second explosion occurred on Friday night in the city of Lugansk, in the self-proclaimed "republic" of the same name in eastern Ukraine, Russian news agency Tass reported, citing local authorities.
The explosion occurred about 40 minutes after a first one was reported, on a gas pipeline near the city.
There are no reports of casualties.
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Biden's assessment
"Convinced" that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to attack Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has said.
Although there is still room for diplomacy, Biden expects Russia to invade within the next few days.
"We have reason to believe that Russian forces are planning and intend to attack Ukraine next week, in the next few days," he said, explaining that Washington believes Russia will also target Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.
According to Biden, however, Putin is not even remotely considering using nuclear weapons. On the military exercises that the Russian president will attend this weekend, his US counterpart said that through them he is trying to convince the world that he can change the "dynamics" in Europe.
Source: in.gr
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