The Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatist forces exchanged accusations of violating the ceasefire in the Donbas region, while Britain called on Moscow to immediately de-escalate the escalation in Ukraine.

And the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced the killing of a soldier and the wounding of another yesterday, Saturday, by the fire of the pro-Russian separatists in Donbas, while they were targeting defensive sites for the Ukrainian army.

The ministry indicated that it had recorded 10 violations of the ceasefire.

The ministry said that it had informed the European Security and Cooperation Organization of these violations, and announced that its forces were placed on a state of high alert.

On the other hand, the pro-Russian separatist forces in Donetsk province, southeast of Ukraine, accused the Ukrainian forces of violating the ceasefire agreement again.

The spokesman for the so-called Lugansk People's Republic had accused the Ukrainian forces of bombing 5 sites for them, with mortar shells and heavy machine guns.

From time to time, clashes erupt in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, between government forces and the pro-Russian separatists who declared their independence in 2014, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 13,000 people since then.

The warring parties in eastern Ukraine reached in February 2015, in the Belarusian capital Minsk, a ceasefire agreement, which provides for the withdrawal of heavy weapons and foreign forces from Ukraine, in addition to Ukraine's control of all of its borders with Russia by the end of 2015, which has not yet been achieved.

But the situation re-ignited on 30 March, when the Ukrainian Chief of Staff Ruslan Homchak announced that Russian forces had sent units to an area near the border under the pretext of conducting military exercises.

Ukrainian and American officials have expressed their concern in recent days about the arrival of thousands of Russian forces and vehicles to the border with Ukraine, amid renewed clashes between Kiev forces and the pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.

In turn, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that his country and the United States strongly oppose Moscow's destabilization of Ukraine.

Raab added - in a tweet on Twitter - that he agreed with his US counterpart, Anthony Blinken, to Moscow's call to de-escalate and abide by its international commitments, stressing steadfast support for Ukraine's sovereignty.

Ukrainian exercises

In turn, the so-called District Protection Unit of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Army conducted exercises north of the capital, Kiev.

The task of these forces is concentrated in supporting the regular forces in times of war, protecting public institutions and imposing public order in the country.

These exercises are taking place amid tension on the Donbas frontline and the escalation of the dispute between Moscow and Kiev.

In a related context, the Ukrainian news site "Dzir-Gola-Dejna" revealed that Ukrainian intelligence managed to get its hands on documents confirming that the pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region were preparing to transfer them to Moscow to request military support from them.

The report, which was based on intelligence sources in Kiev, said that "the documents were to be transmitted by Dennis Bushlyin, Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, which is not recognized internationally, to Russian President Vladimir Putin."

According to the Ukrainian website, the pro-Russian separatists have prepared 3 offers to present to Moscow, the first of which is to obtain strong Russian military support, and the second offer talked about annexing the region to the Russian Federation, because most of the population had expressed their desire to join Russia in the 2014 referendum.

As for the third symptom, according to Ukrainian intelligence, it is Moscow's recognition of the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic.

Russian moves

For its part, the leadership of the Russian fleet announced that 4 ships were heading to the Atlantic Ocean, amid tension between Kiev and Moscow, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for containing the tension between the two countries.

The Russian Fleet Command added that the ships set off from the Russian base in Tartus, Syria, without clarifying the nature, destination or mission of those ships.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had urged Washington to take a "more responsible approach to the situation in Ukraine and not to escalate tensions."

Ryabkov said that Moscow expects from Washington effective action to reduce the policy of escalating tension pursued by Kiev.

On Friday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that the United States will send two warships to the Black Sea via the Bosphorus, on April 14 and 15, in a manner that does not violate the Montreux Agreement.

This agreement, dating back to 1936, guarantees freedom to sail on the Bosphorus, but countries not bordering the Black Sea must arrive 15 days before their ships pass, and ships cannot stay at the site for more than 21 days.