The current aggravation on the contact line in Donbass is perhaps one of the most serious in the entire period from 2014-2015. For a week now, shelling of such density from the largest calibers has been going on. Residents of the two people's republics managed to somehow forget that the approaches to the DPR and LPR were literally packed with Ukrainian artillery. The names of the settlements being hit again flashed again: Telmanovo, Novaya Maryevka, Gorlovka, Yasinovataya, etc. Arrivals during the week were also on the outskirts of Donetsk. The cannonade in the mornings, when the air is still, is heard especially well in the capital of the DPR.

The situation with Staromaryevka, a village located in the so-called gray zone, is not entirely clear. Two days ago, the Ukrainian military entered it. They reportedly detained three locals who had Russian passports. Then information came that the Ukrainians had left the village, but yesterday the representatives of the Donetsk People's Republic demanded from the Ukrainian side to allow neutral humanitarian organizations into the village to provide humanitarian assistance to its residents. Judging by this report, Ukrainian servicemen are still in Staromaryevka, where they set up positions and set up a checkpoint.

For the first time in the entire period of hostilities, Ukraine used the Bayraktar Turkish combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Donbass. First, Ukrainian volunteers, and then the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, published footage showing the moment of a drone hitting an artillery battery. The DPR reported that the crew was not injured, and the gun itself survived. This is a gross violation of the Minsk agreements, although Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said at a briefing yesterday that there was no violation, since the armed forces exercised "their right to defense." Actually, this argument is suitable for justifying any crime.

Infrastructure was severely damaged by shelling. Power lines and transformers were interrupted, as a result of which several villages were left without electricity. The problem is not only the lack of electricity, but also the fact that the boiler houses were de-energized. This means that hundreds of people are forced to stay in unheated rooms, while the temperature in the DPR drops to minus values ​​at night.

Many associate the deterioration of the situation at the front with the visit of the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin to Kiev.

Say, it was he who gave the go-ahead for a large-scale provocation in the Donbass.

Without excluding such a possibility, I will nevertheless note that the current ruling team, like the previous one, provoking exacerbations, certainly does not need external sanctions.

The Ukrainian leadership turns on and off the switch when it seems necessary to it.

This time, the apparent reason was the unprecedented drop in Zelensky's rating after an offshore scandal in which he and people from his circle were implicated.

When they say that Kiev is using the war to distract attention, it seems to me that this greatly simplifies the matter.

Yes, distracting the population from any internal problem is one of the tasks, but a much more important goal is the psychological mobilization of the population, calculated for a comprehensive result.

It is important to raise the level of anxiety and make it clear that against the background of hostilities, in which “our lads” are dying, all issues are fading into the background.

In addition, a message is sent to the patriots: the Supreme Commander-in-Chief simultaneously smashes the "separatists" and successfully copes with the solution of military tasks.

It is difficult to say how long the massive shelling will last, but so far there are no visible signs of a decrease in tension.

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.