MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax) - The Kremlin is troubled by the deterioration of the situation in Donbas, saying that it warned long ago about the danger of Ukraine's excessive military presence on the contact line.
"It causes our immense concern. We have warned many times that the excessive presence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the immediate vicinity of the contact line together with possible provocations could pose an enormous danger," Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"We see now that they are staging these provocations. We see reports from representatives of the self-proclaimed republics that the sides are exchanging fire on the contact line, that it was Ukraine that delivered the first strikes. This information is disturbing. We are continuing to closely watch the situation," Peskov said.