Kiev says the separatists are back at it

Weapons prohibited by the Minsk ceasefire agreements, such as mortars, tanks, self-propelled guns, and (Russian-made) Hurricane rocket-launchers, have been discovered in violation of the buffer zone, says a new report by Ukrainian intelligence officers.

Prohibited artillery weapons were spotted in the Kominternovo, Kalinovka, Perevalsk, and Novoamvroseevskogo regions.

According to the report, representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's special monitoring mission have been notified.

The situation in the Donbas region conflict zone remains difficult, says Ukraine's Defense Ministry. On December 30, for example, Kiev reported 31 shelling incidents from separatists using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Multilateral talks in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015, resulted in a second ceasefire agreement to halt the conflict in Ukraine.

The ceasefire agreement, known as “Minsk II,” created a 30-mile (50-kilometer) buffer zone between the artilleries of Ukrainian troops and separatist forces.