Ukraine: A shell explodes in front of the Ukrainian Interior Minister

Mortar shells exploded near Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastirsky, AFP journalists said on Saturday during his visit to the country’s eastern front line.

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The incident, in which no one was injured, took place near the village of Novolugansky, which is lined up with Russian-backed separatists, and was visited by several Ukrainian officials amid unprecedented tensions with Moscow.

The shells exploded after Mr Monastirsky left the trenches separating Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists after an interview with international media.

Journalists and officials immediately left.

The Ukrainian military says two soldiers were killed and four others were wounded in Saturday’s shelling. At least one of them, a 35-year-old captain and father of three, was killed early in the morning near Novologansky.

Military and Moscow-backed separatists have blamed each other for the conflict that has claimed more than 14,000 lives in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

Separatists who partially control the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine say Kiev is planning an invasion of them. They started the population movement and announced the general mobilization.

Ukraine has denied the allegations and appealed for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Western nations accuse Russia of deploying more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border as Moscow looking for an excuse to invade its Ukrainian neighbors.