Donbas
The day has been marked by a steep increase in the number and intensity of attacks by the Russian occupying troops by the Russian-occupying troops.
- By 10 p.m., the Joint Forces Operation HQ has registered 50 ceasefire violations, including 39 with the use of banned heavy weapons. Novotoshkivske was targeted with 122-mm artillery, 120-mm mortars and mounted anti-tank grenade launchers; Vodyane with 120-mm and 82-mm mortars, various grenade launchers and anti-tank missile systems; Trudivske with 82-mm mortars; Starohnativka with 120-mm and 82-mm automatic mounted grenade launchers, heavy machine-guns and small arms; Pivdenne and Mayorsk with 82-mm mortars and automatic mounted grenade launchers; Lobacheve with 122-mm artillery, 120-mm and 82-mm mortars and automatic mounted grenade launchers; Novoselivka Druha with anti-tank missile systems; Luhanske and Staryy Aydar with 122-mm artillery and 120-mm mortars; Maryinka with 120-mm and 82-mm mortars, mounted anti-tank grenade launchers, heavy machine-guns and small arms; Svitlodarsk with 120-mm mortars and heavy machine-guns; Troyitske with tank guns, 120-mm and 82-mm mortars; Popasna with mounted anti-tank grenade launchers; Zaytseve with automatic mounted grenade launchers; Novozvanivka with 152-mm artillery; Stanytsya Luhanska with 122-mm artillery, 120-mm and 82-mm mortars and automatic mounted grenade launchers; Pisky with 82-mm mortars, handheld and mounted anti-tank grenade launchers; Holmivskyy and Mayorsk with 120-mm mortars and automatic grenade launchers; Khryashchivka and Syze with 122-mm artillery; Avdiyivka, Shumy, Travneve, Nevelske, Donetskyy, Opytne and Hranitne with 120-mm mortars; Shyrokyne with handheld and mounted anti-tank grenade launchers.
- An Orlan-10-type drone was spotted crossing the line of contact into the government-controlled territory of Donetsk Region.
- One Ukrainian serviceman was wounded and one sustained a combat injury.
- Two civilians were wounded.
- Three staff members of a kindergarten in Stanytsya Luhanska suffered a concussion when a shell hit its wall in the morning.
- The Kindrashivska-Nova train station close to Stanytsya Luhanska was shelled. One locomotive was damaged but is still operational.
- A local secondary school and a gas main were damaged after the village of Vrubivka came under artillery fire.
- A shell hit a private house in Stanytsya Luhanska at around 9 p.m., having set it on fire; no-one was hurt.
Reaction to escalation
The Russian occupying administration in Donbas is preparing to evacuate the local population in some settlements in the occupied territory, including Donetsk, due to a possible escalation, Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has said.
He stressed: "The Armed Forces of Ukraine strictly comply with the Minsk agreements and international humanitarian law and are not planning any offensive operations or shelling of civilians. Our actions are solely defensive in nature. The occupying state, the Russian Federation, is responsible for the situation in the temporarily occupied territories. Any damage to people or infrastructure in the temporarily occupied territories is a provocation."
The aim of today's escalation in Donbas is to force Ukraine to make concessions. However, Ukraine will not agree to this, the head of the Servant of the People faction, Davyd Arakhamiya, has said.
Separatists
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not negotiate directly with the separatist in Donbas.
"This is stupid. They don't decide anything at all. Why waste time on this? They can shoot and hit a kindergarten, a school... That's what they decide," Zelensky told RBC-Ukraine.
The self-proclaimed republics do not have a say on any political issues without Russia, he added.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia's recognition of the separatist entities would mean its unilateral withdrawal from the Minsk agreements.
"I think that the stakes are raising. Russia has put forward conditions to partners regarding Ukraine and NATO. And the latter are negotiating with them, I hope, defending our interests," he said. He suggested that Russia is doing what it did to Moldova's breakaway Dniester region.
Arms
The National Police have not observed an increase in the number of first-time buyers of arms, deputy chief Oleksandr Fatsevych has said. Therefore, reports that Ukrainians have started buying more defensive/offensive means are not true.
Trilateral alliance
Ukraine, the UK and Poland have created a new format of cooperation. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this at a briefing with his British counterpart Liz Truss, who is visiting Kyiv.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau was unable to arrive in Ukraine for logistical reasons.
"Remotely he is with us and we are announcing the start of this trilateral Ukrainian-Polish-British format. A statement to this effect will appear soon on the official websites of our foreign ministries," Kuleba said.
Treaty on Open Skies
Parliament has ratified the Treaty on Open Skies with the EU, which was signed last October.
Cyber troops
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry jointly with the National Security and Defence Council is working to finalise the draft law on the creation of the Cyber Defence Forces of Ukraine, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Poll
A survey by Gorshenin Institute has found that 53.4% of Ukrainians want the country to join the EU and 54.1% want to see it in NATO.
Reshuffle
Parliament has accepted the resignation of State Property Fund Dmytro Sennychenko.