The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate has said the situation in the central government's military operation zone in Donbas has become more difficult, with militants amassing weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements.

"Representatives of the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] provided information about the presence, in the districts of Leninsky, Donetsk, and Zhovten, of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements: tanks, cannons, mortar launchers and 122-millimeter Grad rocket launchers," the Directorate said on its website on Wednesday.

Militants have stepped up their shelling, having fired small arms, grenades, mortars and tank shells against Ukrainian positions 66 times on Wednesday, the military intelligence directorate said.