Iran Press/ Europe: The situation in eastern Ukraine has become critical in recent days. In recent days, separatists in eastern Ukraine have accused the country's military of carrying out artillery and mortar attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The accusations were also reciprocated by the Ukrainian government against the separatist forces.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine are Russian-dominated. The two regions declared their autonomy from the central government of Ukraine in 2014 following a coup by Westerners against the then government.
Russia has previously stated that the Ukrainian army intends to launch a large-scale offensive against the separatists; In contrast, the pro-Western Ukrainian government denies this and accuses Russia of using military intervention in eastern Ukraine. This has increased tensions between Russia and the West.
The United States, along with its NATO allies and pro western government Ukraine, has accused Russia of plotting to invade Ukraine.
Russia, meanwhile, has denied Western allegations that Moscow intends to invade Ukraine, accusing the United States and its European allies of deliberately escalating tensions.
According to the Iran Press News Agency, the cause of the explosions in the Luhansk region is still unknown and no further details have been released.
In a telephone conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the West for ignoring Ukraine's actions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Lavrov added that by ignoring Germany and France, two members of the "Normandy" group (Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany), Ukraine is deliberately refusing to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreement and the measures envisaged in it.
Ukraine has been the scene of clashes between the government and the opposition in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk since April 2014 following the Westerners' coup against the then government. 219
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