KYIV. Feb 13 (Interfax) - The militia have an order to establish control over the cities of Debaltseve and Mariupol before February 15, when the parties are expected to cease fire, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Petro Mekhed said.
"If we take into account the fact that we now have an agreement to cease fire at midnight on February 15, I have information that the [enemy's] troops have an order to raise the flag over Debaltseve and in Mariupol," Mekhed told reporters in Kyiv on Friday.
Mekhed said the Defense Ministry expects the escalation of the situation on these tracks and is taking all necessary measures to repel the enemy's attacks.
Mekhed said four instances of fighting were registered in the combat zone on Thursday and three were registered there on Friday morning.
Mekhed said the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has reported an increase in the number of Russian troops in the military operation area.
"In addition, they are supplying weapons to militants, they are actively fighting […] and there is a tendency towards an increase. We can say that over 10,000 Russian troops are now in Ukraine," he said.
Russian Foreign and Defense Ministry officials denied the presence of Russian troops in Donbas over the past few months.
Russian Defense Ministry official Igor Konashenkov in late January again denied the allegations by the Ukrainian military that Russian troops are fighting on the side of the militia.
Viktor Muzhenko, the head of the Ukrainian General Staff, said during a meeting with the military attaches of foreign countries accredited in Ukraine in Kyiv in late January: "We are not conducting military actions with regular Russian troops."