<p>A dozen mortar shells fell withing a few hundred metres (yards) of Ukraine's interior minister on Saturday as he met journalists on a tour of the frontline with Russian-backed rebels.</p>.<p>The minister, Denys Monastyrskiy, was forced to seek cover as the shells exploded, shortly after he gave on camera interviews to international media, AFP correspondents saw.</p>.<p>There was no sign that anyone was hurt in the volley of shells, which fell as the minister left a frontline area where he had given interviews in the trench line separating government forces from the rebels.</p>.<p>The journalists and officials left the area shortly afterwards.</p>.<p>Both the government and separatist forces have accused each other of escalating the conflict in recent days, and Ukraine reported the death of a soldier on Friday, the fourth in the past two months.</p>.<p>Moscow-backed rebels who hold parts of the Lugansk and Donetsk districts on the Russian border have alleged that the government is plotting a campaign to drive them out of the area.</p>.<p>But Kyiv insists it has no such plan, and in turn accuses Russian leader President Vladimir Putin of ramping up tensions to provoke an incident that could serve as a pretext to launch an invasion.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>A dozen mortar shells fell withing a few hundred metres (yards) of Ukraine's interior minister on Saturday as he met journalists on a tour of the frontline with Russian-backed rebels.</p>.<p>The minister, Denys Monastyrskiy, was forced to seek cover as the shells exploded, shortly after he gave on camera interviews to international media, AFP correspondents saw.</p>.<p>There was no sign that anyone was hurt in the volley of shells, which fell as the minister left a frontline area where he had given interviews in the trench line separating government forces from the rebels.</p>.<p>The journalists and officials left the area shortly afterwards.</p>.<p>Both the government and separatist forces have accused each other of escalating the conflict in recent days, and Ukraine reported the death of a soldier on Friday, the fourth in the past two months.</p>.<p>Moscow-backed rebels who hold parts of the Lugansk and Donetsk districts on the Russian border have alleged that the government is plotting a campaign to drive them out of the area.</p>.<p>But Kyiv insists it has no such plan, and in turn accuses Russian leader President Vladimir Putin of ramping up tensions to provoke an incident that could serve as a pretext to launch an invasion.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>