Uncertain situation in Eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian Army Press Center reports multiple cease fire violations from the areas controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists.
There have been reports of heavy artillery barrages hitting residential areas in the township of Prohorovka.
During the previous day, eight Ukrainian army personnel were wounded.
The escalations took place in the areas of Mariupol, Donetsk and Lugansk.
Ukrainian army officials also accused pro-kremlin separatists of attempting to seize the territory in the buffer zones.
In their turn, separatist leaders have been accusing the Ukrainian side of amassing their forces along the front lines.
The situation remains highly volatile putting the effectiveness of the Minsk agreement in question. The report from Reuters seems to be pointing to it as well.
Amid ongoing negotiations between the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine this could be seen as an attempt on the part of Russia to gain more leverage in the negotiations.
At the same time there is a growing sense among Ukrainian social media users of the imminent offensive. Some of the users go as far as openly discussing the direction of the next Russian attack.
It remains to be seen how the current situation will develop.