Shelling escalates in eastern Ukraine, two civilians killed: Report

Russia, Belarus extend military drills; Macron and Putin agree to preserve peace

Russia will extend military drills in Belarus that were due to end on Sunday, the Belarusian defence ministry announced, in a step US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said made him more worried about an imminent invasion of Ukraine.

The defence ministry said the decision was taken because of military activity near the borders of Russia and Belarus as well as the situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.

Incidents of shelling across the line dividing Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in that region – which were sporadic in the past – increased sharply last week and continued on Sunday.

Speaking to CNN, Blinken said that while all signs suggested Russia was on the brink of invading, the United States and its allies would use every diplomatic opportunity to dissuade the Kremlin.

The two countries’ foreign ministers will meet in the coming days to that effect and will work on a possible summit at the highest level with Russia, Ukraine and allies to establish a new security order in Europe, the Elysee palace said.

Belarus did not say how long Russian troops in Belarus – estimated by NATO to number 30,000 – might now remain in the country, which borders Ukraine to the north. Belarus Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said the focus of the extended exercises was "to ensure an adequate response and de-escalation of military preparations of ill-wishers near our common borders". The Kremlin did not comment on the Belarus drills. Russia previously said the troops would return to permanent garrisons once the drills were over.

NATO says Russia could use the troops as part of an invasion force to attack Ukraine. Moscow denies any such intention. 

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, told Reuters the extension of the Belarus exercises underlined that official promises from Moscow should not be taken as binding.

Russia and its allies say the West is whipping up tensions by sending NATO reinforcements to eastern Europe.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the repeated warnings by the West that Russia was about to invade were provocative and could have adverse consequences, without giving details.

Sanctions

Western countries are preparing sanctions they say would be wide-reaching against Russian companies and individuals in case of an invasion.

Blinken said, however, that sanctions were a deterrent that should not be unleashed before an attack.

The focus of tensions in recent days has been on the swathe of eastern Ukraine that Russian-backed rebels seized in 2014, the same year Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. More than 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict in the east.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern part of the country.

On Sunday, a Reuters reporter heard explosions in the centre of Donetsk city in the eastern Donbass region controlled by separatists. Heavy shelling was heard elsewhere in the region.

SMS messages sent to residents of Donetsk urged men to report for military duty.

More than 30,000 people from Donetsk and nearby Luhansk have crossed the Russian border in the past 24 hours, TASS news agency said, quoting authorities in Russia's Rostov region. The separatists began evacuating residents on Friday saying that Ukraine was planning to attack - which Kyiv denied.

Kyiv's Western allies are concerned Russia might use the escalation as a pretext for wider conflict.

Local military forces in one of the separatist areas, Luhansk, said on Sunday that two civilians had been killed and five buildings damaged in shelling by the Ukraine military.

Russia's Investigative Committee will investigate the case, the RIA news agency quoted it as saying. Two Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed and four wounded on Saturday.

Troop build-up

The renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine follows a build-up over several weeks of Russia troops to the north, east and south of the country. The West estimates 150,000 or more Russian troops are currently near Ukraine's borders.

Russia, which has demanded NATO prevent Ukraine from ever joining the alliance, calls Western warnings it is planning to invade hysterical and dangerous. However, it has warned of unspecified "military-technical" measures if its demands for NATO pullback from Eastern Europe are not met.

US President Joe Biden was due to convene his top advisers later on Sunday to discuss the crisis. Biden said on Saturday he believed Russia could launch an attack "at any time," despite Kremlin assurances that some troops were returning to their permanent bases after military exercises.