OREANDA-NEWS. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky convened a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council amid shelling on the demarcation line in the Donbass.

“…Militants and occupiers carried out a cynical provocation,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on his Facebook page. Zelensky called the attack an attempt to disrupt the peace process in the Donbass, which began to advance previously. According to him, at present the battle has ended, the Ukrainian army has suffered losses. At a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, the leadership of Ukraine will decide on further steps.

Earlier on February 18, Kiev reported that armed groups attacked the positions of the Ukrainian military on the demarcation line in Donbass. According to the press service of the Joint Operation Headquarters, shelling was carried out from mortars prohibited by the Minsk Agreements, machine guns and grenade launchers.

Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics claimed that Ukrainians began shelling settlements. As a result, residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged.