Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak pointed out the worsening of the security situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which has taken place lately.

"I see no progress. Yesterday there were 42 shellings. I do not think it is an example of improving the situation in the East of Ukraine,” Interfax-Ukraine quoted Poltorak as saying.

The minister noted that the Russian Federation showed no initiative to resolve the situation. Moreover, according to Poltorak, the Kremlin has made every …

Volodymyr Kryzhanovsky, the head of the press service of the "South" Air Command, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces intend to continue carrying out missile tests not far from the Crimea, as that territory is the optimal test range for such exercises, UNIAN reported.

"The last time such exercises took place was 4 years ago. We had a special testing site on Cape Chauda in the Crimea, but because of the annexation of the peninsula, we lost it. But now we have a new test ground and this place …

According to the US Ambassador to the OSCE, Daniel Baer, Russia is attempting to escalate the violence in eastern Ukraine in order to improve their position at the negotiating table and to gain concessions in their favor, Unrinform reported.

“Russia has escalated tensions on the line of contact in an attempt to wrest concessions from Ukraine by force,” Baer stated.

At the same time, he noted that fighting further complicates achieving political progress during the Minsk negotiations.

“If …