Ukraine's Defense Ministry observed an aggravation of the situation in the Donbas that began on midnight on February 17.


Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called the attacks deliberate provocations. The minister emphasized that the separatists are acting with the support of Russia. Moscow is stepping up its information campaign to justify its growing aggression against Ukraine, Reznikov said. He also stressed that shelling poses a danger to civilians, including children, RBC-Ukraine agency reported.

As of 19:00 on February 17th, Russian Federation forces invading Ukraine opened fire on defenders and civilians 47 times – shelling with large-calibre artillery 38 times. Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded. 5 civilians were injured, including 3 employees of a kindergarten.

According to Kiev, civilian infrastructure objects, including a kindergarten in the village of Stanica Luhanska, fell under shelling, and there are victims among civilians.


Blinken: Russia Can Utilise Weapons Of Mass Destruction

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday how Washington believes Russia could seek to invade Ukraine, warning that Moscow was preparing to attack its neighbor in the “coming days.”

Mr. Blinken, as other U.S. officials have done over the past two weeks, accused Russia of planning to manufacture a pretext for an attack on Ukraine that could include “a fake, even a real, attack using chemical weapons, and said: “Russia may describe this event as ethnic cleansing or a genocide.”