UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is alarmed by what seems to be a "dangerous escalation" in the crisis in Ukraine with reports of intensified fighting in the country south-east near the border with Russia, as the Security Council held emergency talks on the latest developments.
"The international community cannot allow the situation to escalate further nor can a continuation be allowed of the violence and destruction that the conflict has wrought in eastern Ukraine," Ban's spokesperson said in a statement.
It is reported that the fighting in eastern Ukraine has spread southward, near the border of the Sea of Azov and Russia.
"If confirmed, this will mark a dangerous escalation in the Ukrainian crisis," said the statement.
Briefing the Security Council on the latest developments, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said that illegal armed groups operating in the Donetsk region have reportedly intensified their activities over the last two days, spreading violence along Ukraine's southern coast, in the direction of the key strategic port of Mariupol.
It has further been reported that several small towns and villages in the area are now in the midst of heavy fighting, while the town of Novoazovsk has been seized by the armed groups.
The battle for Lugansk continues, and hostilities in Donetsk in several key strategic areas have been spreading, he added.
A total of 2,593 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine since mid-April, a senior UN human rights official said on Friday.
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