OSCE counts 1,500 ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine, NATO says Russia is now preparing for attack

Meanwhile, tensions are rising between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. “There was a huge explosion north of the city of Donetsk. The ceasefire agreement between Russian-backed rebels and the Ukrainian military has been violated 20 times today alone,” said Tom van de Vege, a VRT correspondent from Ukraine. The Ukrainian military says two soldiers were killed.

“This morning, the pro-Russian rebel leader in the region called for a general mobilization of reservists who could be stationed in the rebel army in the coming days. The Ukrainian military is urging security forces across the country to be ready,” Van said. Wow. Russia, meanwhile, says it is investigating reports of Ukrainian grenades being dropped on the Russian border, Kiev denies.

The Ukrainian president responded via social media that Ukraine would not respond to “provocations” in the eastern Donbass region. “We aim to resolve this diplomatically.” According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, his country is preparing for “all possible circumstances.”

Observers for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have estimated more than 1,500 ceasefire violations in the past 24 hours: 591 in the Donetsk region and 975 in the Lukansk region.