Russian President Visits Annexed Crimea, Slams Ukraine — Putin Crimea

He also drew attention to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s visit to Russian-occupied Crimea on Monday, ostensibly, to promote tourism, as another provocation.

The clashes near Mariupol mark an increase in violence which has further strained the delicate ceasefire.

Shelling destroyed several buildings on the outskirts of Donetsk, the largest city in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists.

‘We are concerned by the course of events in recent days which very strongly resembles the preparation for more military action, ‘ Lavrov said.

“Russian Federation has adamantly denied Ukraine”™s allegations that it has sent soldiers to fight on behalf of the rebels.

The conflict has killed an estimated 6,400 people since April 2014, according to the United Nations.

Lavrov said that Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels had been negotiating for a withdrawal of weapons away from the area, including demilitarization of the town of Shyrokyne, which is near Mariupol and has seen intense fighting.

Last week the Ukrainian military said its forces repelled a large separatist attack on Starohnativka, a village 30 miles north of Mariupol, prompting Oleksandr Turchynov, the head of the country’s security and defence council, to warn of an imminent separatist offensive.

The mayor of the rebel-held town of Horlivka, north of Donetsk city, said heavy Ukrainian shelling had killed three civilians and injured four others.

Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, echoed Lithuania, saying the Putin trip is “a continuation of the plan to escalate the situation”.

In a newspaper interview on Sunday with Bild am Sonntag, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the situation in eastern Ukraine was “explosive” and called on the warring sides to return to the peace process to prevent “a new military escalation spiral”. At least seven civilians and two Ukrainian troops were killed overnight today in eastern Ukraine as shelling from the warring sides intensified. The report estimates that at least 9,000 Russian Army personnel were inside Ukraine, while the remaining are stationed in the Rostov region of Russia.

In an indication of the marked rise in tensions, Vladyslav Seleznikov, press secretary for the Ukrainian general staff, said Russian Federation was piling pressure on Kiev by stationing troops on the border and that the rebels rejected an end to the violence.