Kremlin Calls Conflict Escalation in Ukraine’s Avdiivka 'Provocation'

The escalation in fighting near the town of Avdiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region is a Kiev's provocation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Ukrainian town of Avdiivka located on the demarcation line has been under attack since Sunday. Water and power supplies were reportedly cut off in the town on Monday.

"Nothing else but a provocation," Peskov told the Russian Dozhd television channel, commenting on the aggravation of the situation in the region.

Peskov said earlier Tuesday that Moscow had reliable data that the Ukrainian independent armed groups, supported by the Ukrainian Armed Forces' artillery, were behind the attack on Avdiivka.