(VOVworld) – Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for escalating the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

A house destroyed in heavy fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the village of Sartana, near Mariupol, in eastern Ukraine (Photo: EPA)

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s army said Russia is supporting Ukrainian opposition forces in attacks against Ukrainian military bases. Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the Ukrainian government forces of violating the Minsk agreement by shelling areas controlled by the opposition. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that since last Saturday, Ukraine’s army has fired shells on Donetsk, Mariupol, Gorlovka, and Debaltsevo, killing 10 people. The self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk said the Ukraine army deployed 50 armoured vehicles and several Grad and Tochka-U missiles near the red line where heavy weapons’ deployment is banned.
Russia has been asking Ukraine to hold a direct dialogue with the opposition, who Ukraine has called “separatists and terrorists.”