Russian foreign ministry:  Kiev seeks further escalation of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine

The renewed military activities once again provoked by Kiev will inevitably result in further escalation of the conflict, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on January 28.

“Alarming news continues to come from Ukraine’s southeastern regions,” the statement reads. “On January 27, Lugansk and its suburbs were subjected to rocket and artillery attacks by Ukrainian forces. The Kievsky, Kuybyshevsky, and Petrovsky districts of Donetsk, as well as Gorlovka and Yenakievo were also shelled.”

According to the foreign ministry, over the past 24 hours, 68 attacks on the civilian population have been reported, leaving aside the attacks on the positions of self-defense forces. This has resulted in new deaths and injuries among the civilian population. Residential houses, critical infrastructure, social and transport facilities are being destroyed in the region.

“The renewed military activities once again provoked by Kiev, will inevitably result in further escalation of the conflict and undermine the international community's efforts to end the bloodshed and find a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis,” it is stressed in the statement.