Ukrainian security forces opened fire on the territory of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, according to the LPR delegation to the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire Regime (JCCC).

The LPR People's Militia had previously said that Ukrainian security forces had opened fire on two LPR villages since the start of the day.

Ukrainian forces have shelled LPR 29 times in the last 24 hours, including with heavy weaponry, the LPR mission to the (JCCC) added.

The Ukrainian army also utilized 122-millimeter artillery, large-caliber mortars, and anti-tank guided missiles, according to the same source.

The situation in the Donbas region escalated on Thursday, with the Lugansk People's Republic accusing the Ukrainian military of breaking a ceasefire and firing indiscriminate mortar shells.

Since 2014, the conflict in Donbas has raged between Ukraine's government and the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

In February 2015, the leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine — the Normandy group — negotiated the Minsk agreements, which aimed to find a political solution to the war. The agreement has yet to be executed, and there are still intermittent conflicts. Moscow has consistently warned that Kiev is failing to implement the Minsk agreements and is postponing peace talks.