All-out conflict loomed closer on the Ukraine border today as Russian-backed rebels were accused of shelling two schools, including a kindergarten.
It came as a senior British MP in Ukraine warned of Russian -plotted terror attacks all over Ukraine and cyber assaults which would precede an all-out offensive.
The crisis was further escalated by reports of shelling at Donetsk airport, the scene of bitter fighting between the warring sides since 2014.
Both sides accused each other of starting the artillery exchange across East Ukraine’s ceasefire line amid rising fears Russian was trying to provoke a war.
A village kindergarten in Stanytsia Luhanska was hit first at 9am, injuring two civilians and leaving the war-suffering community without electricity.
Ukraine accused Moscow-backed separatists of launching the attack, which left a huge shell-sized hole in the building and miraculously did not kill anyone.
An hour later there was more shelling at Popasna, 50 miles away, in which a school and two houses were hit, again not killing anyone.
On Thursday it is believed Ukrainian soldiers in the 250 mile-long trench system in Donbas came under heavy artillery fire throughout the day.
The flare-up was the most serious incident in months of Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s eastern flank, with as many as 150,000 troops now gathered.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced on Thursday he believes as many as 7,000 more Russian troops have been brought to the frontline.
In Kyiv Britain’s defence select committee chairman MP Tobias Ellwood was holding crisis talks with leaders in the capital.
And he warned Ukraine will likely come under a series of brutal “terrorist and cyber” attacks paving the way for a “major offensive” by Russian forces in the coming days.
He said a new and ruthless alliance between Russia and China has emboldened Vladimir Putin. Ellwood warned: “It’s deeply disappointing that the west is now waking up to the bigger picture which is all about Russia’s aggression being spurred on in the knowledge that China is behind them.”
Hours before the clash in the east he added: “What you don’t want is the possibility of an individual clash - you can imagine if there was a clash with Russia near the western border- you could easily advocate a no-fly zone and then that would then provide the necessary top cover for Ukraine to better defend itself. And that would make Putin think.”
He said an invasion of Ukraine would “...begin with sowing confusion with terrorist attacks, massive cyber attacks and they would try to bring other cities to a halt.
“By causing all of that and sowing of confusion, interfering with infrastructure that would then be followed by a major offensive.
“Russia has deliberately boxed itself into a corner, by placing demands on NATO that can never be on offer - such as Ukraine being denied a relationship with NATO.
“Again, we don’t understand what Putin is really doing - and his relationship with China.
“Us threatening sanctions fits into that narrative. It actually helps persuade his own people by saying ‘look understand my position.”
Russia’s alarming build-up comes as Russian field hospitals were being prepared close to the Ukraine border, as well as new bridges in Belarus to the north.
A senior Ukrainian government source said the shelling at the line of contact with Russian-backed separatist forces broke a ceasefire agreement.
But Russian-backed rebels, with whom Moscow forces have been embedded for some time, have repeatedly broken the ceasefire in recent months.
As many as 14,000 people have died in heavy fighting in Ukraine’s east since the 2014 Maidan pro-Europe revolution.
A senior security source in Ukraine warned: “These incidents - with claims about who started them and counter claims are likely to escalate.
“This is all about pouring confusion and false accusation into the mix and some of it will stick back home in Russia, encouraging support for Putin’s military moves.
“This was bound to happen and it could be the next stage in what’s happening between Ukraine and Russia, with the Kremlin trying to cripple Ukraine.”
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “seriously concerned” about the reports of escalation.
A photographer in the town of Kadiivka, in Ukraine’s rebel-held Luhansk region, heard the sound of some artillery fire from the direction of the line of contact, but was not able to determine the details of the incident.
The separatists accused government forces of opening fire on their territory four times in the past 24 hours.
Since a 2015 ceasefire brought an end to major combat in the separatist conflict, the OSCE has typically reported dozens of ceasefire violations each day, often minor incidents of test-firing weapons. Reports of significant shelling or clashes that lead to injuries or death can occur several time a month.
The self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, one of two rebel regions, said Ukrainian forces had used mortars, grenade launchers and a machine gun in four separate incidents on Thursday.
“Armed forces of Ukraine have crudely violated the ceasefire regime, using heavy weapons, which, according to the Minsk agreements, should be withdrawn,” the separatists said in a statement.
Referring to the rebels, Ukraine’s military said: “With particular cynicism, the Russian occupation troops shelled the village of Stanytsa Lugansk in the Luhansk region. As a result of the use of heavy artillery weapons by terrorists, shells hit the kindergarten building. According to preliminary data, two civilians received shell shock.”
