Ukraine continued to bomb a village in the Russian-speaking areas of Donbas, Russian news agencies reported late Tuesday.

Earlier, Ukrainians said a Ukrainian soldier had been killed and six others wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

According to initial reports, the Ukrainian artillery fired at least eight 122mm shells, which are also banned by the Minsk agreement, in a village in eastern Ukraine, destroying at least six houses and a vehicle.

Russian agencies did not provide information on whether there were any casualties from the Ukrainian attacks. However, a few hours earlier, the Ukrainian army announced that one Ukrainian soldier was killed and six others were injured in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“A soldier was killed” in the Lugansk region, a spokesman for the Ukrainian soldiers told AFP, without specifying how the rest had been injured.

Following the escalation of the previous days, the Ukrainian authorities spoke of “relative calm” on the front line. French Agency reporters, however, saw missiles being fired at many areas of Luhansk.

Since the beginning of the year, eight soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and one civilian have been killed in clashes with separatist forces on the front in eastern Ukraine, mainly by artillery fire. In 2021, according to the Ukrainian army, 66 soldiers were killed in the two “republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia officially announced yesterday that it is establishing diplomatic relations with the two regions, which it recognised as independent states.