“We are deeply concerned about the escalation of hostilities near Avdiyivka in East Ukraine from Jan. 29 onwards,” Mikser said in a statement on Friday. “We also condemn the use of Grad missiles in densely populated areas by the Russian-backed separatists which has resulted in civilian victims.”

The foreign minister emphasized that those missile systems ought to have been withdrawn from the line of contact according to the Minsk agreements.

"We urge the conflict parties to end exchanges of fire without delay. This escalation of hostilities is a clear violation of the Minsk agreements, and therefore the West must continue pursuing a principled policy including the sanctions imposed on Russia,” the foreign minister said. According to Mikser, this topic definitely needs to be addressed at Monday’s meeting of the European Union’s foreign ministers.

On Sunday Mikser will take part in a meeting of the Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers in Brussels, in the framework of which the ministers will discuss the situation with Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.