DONETSK, February 2 (Sputnik) – Kiev is beefing up its military presence along the border of the east Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said Monday.
"The [Ukrainian] military is continuing its reinforcements along the front line near Donetsk. We have seen the movement of equipment and troops," Zakharchenko said.
He also said military strikes against cities in the republic have intensified since the last Minsk talks were held on Saturday.
"We have all seen that strikes by the Ukrainian forces against the cities of the DPR have intensified. They were unable to agree in Minsk, so they started intensifying strikes against peaceful cities," the DPR leader said.
On January 25, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said that Ukrainian troops were strengthening their positions in zones where Kiev forces were clashing with Donbas pro-independence fighters. According to the minister, weapons and equipment were also delivered to the troops in Donbas.
The latest round of Contact Group talks on Ukraine took place on January 31 in the Belarusian capital but the parties failed to reach an agreement to ease tensions.
