Amid Ukraine-Russia tensions, heavy blasts heard in Luhansk: Report

Tensions spiked along the line of contact in Donbass, Ukraine with reports by the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics of active shelling carried out by Ukrainian armed forces, reported Sputnik. Reportedly, two major blasts hit Luhansk, first occurred at the gas pipeline "Druzhba" which triggered a massive fire while the second was recorded half an hour after that. As per the Sputnik sources, emergency crews, firefighters and police had reached the site immediately.

No casualties have been reported so far. According to the report, both explosions were acts of "sabotage."

Joe Biden 'convinced' with Putin's intentions of invading Ukraine

US President Joe Biden who earlier said that Russia is expected to invade Ukraine in coming days on Friday said that he is convinced that Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, including an assault on the capital, as tensions spiked along the militarized border with attacks that the West called “false-flag” operations meant to establish a pretext for invasion.

“As of this moment I’m convinced he’s made the decision,” Biden said. “We have reason to believe that.” He reiterated that the assault could occur in the “coming days,” quoted AP News. 

Reports of shelling in Ukraine

A group of international monitors tasked with keeping the peace reported more than 500 explosions in the 24 hours ending Thursday midday, around four times as many as an average day over the past month. 

A humanitarian convoy was hit by shelling, and pro-Russian rebels evacuated civilians from the conflict zone. A car bombing hit the eastern city of Donetsk, but no casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, US government has said that it is ready to give a tough fight to Russia by imposing stern sanctions in case of a Russian invasion on Ukraine, warned the White House officials on Friday. This came after several American leaders this week issued their most dire warnings stating that Moscow could any day issue an order invasion over Ukraine.