Ukraine and the separatists exchanged accusations of bombing, which led to casualties on both sides. Kiev revealed that Russian military equipment had been monitored in the Donbass region, while Russia and Belarus decided to extend their maneuvers.

The Ukrainian army said that a soldier was wounded this morning, and two civilians were wounded, as a result of the bombing by pro-Russian separatists on several towns in the Donbass region, which also damaged 33 homes.

On the other hand, the separatists in Luhansk accused the Ukrainian army of violating the ceasefire 49 times in 24 hours, and said that the army's bombing of the Pionerska region led to the death of two civilians.

In Donetsk, the separatists said that their forces carried out a military operation near the airport, and thwarted sabotage operations planned by the Ukrainian army.

A spokesman for the separatist Donetsk forces told the island that Ukrainian artillery targeted 32 residential neighborhoods within 24 hours.

Because of the bombing, the Scandinavian airline told Al Jazeera, "We have suspended our flights to and from Ukraine and will avoid its airspace in the coming days."

The evacuation of civilians from Donbas continues to Russia's Rostov (Reuters)

Military Monitor

On the other hand, the Ukrainian army announced that it had detected 134 pieces of Russian military equipment in the separatist-controlled part of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The army closed the border crossing "Chastia" in the Donbas region to the movement of vehicles and pedestrians, starting this morning after heavy shelling, and it is one of the crossings that were modernized last fall on the ceasefire line to serve the Luhansk region.

On the other hand, the Russian border guards closed all crossings with the Donbass region, limiting them to civilians crossing into the Rostov region only.

As hostilities continue in Donbass and Donetsk, more civilians are flowing through the available crossings to Russia, where temporary camps have been set up to house them.

On Sunday, the Russian Emergencies Ministry announced the arrival of more than 40,000 refugees from the Donbas region to the Russian territory since the start of the evacuations.

The Russian and Belarusian presidents supervise the joint exercises (Reuters)

Extended maneuvers

In field developments as well, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had taken the decision to continue testing the combat readiness of the rapid reaction forces of both countries.

Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrinin said that the decision came due to the increase in military activity near the borders of the two countries, and the aggravation of the situation in the Donbass region;

He pointed out that the joint exercises showed that Minsk and Moscow have an infrastructure ready to respond quickly to military threats, as he put it.

The maneuvers were due to end on Sunday, and the extension move adds to the pressure on Ukraine, which the West has warned could be imminently invaded by Russia.

For the second day in a row, Russia's "strategic deterrence" maneuvers continue under the supervision of Putin, using ballistic and winged missiles, and from land, sea and air.

Various units of the Space Forces, the Southern Military District, the Missile Force, the North Sea and the Black Sea Fleet are participating in the maneuvers.

Russian ships, submarines and strategic bombers launched the Tsirkon, Kinzhal and Kalibr missiles in the maneuvers, while the Russian nuclear submarine "Karelia" launched the ICBM "Sineva".

The Yars ballistic missile was also launched as part of Russian strategic maneuvers that simulate the use of nuclear weapons.