Kiev

Amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a "powerful explosion" hit Luhansk in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border Friday midnight, Sputnik reported.

The blast was said to occur at gas pipeline "Druzhba" and sparked a massive fire. Local gas infrastructure company Luganskgaz said in a statement that emergency teams were sent to the site of the blast.

"At 00:10 on 19 February, calls began to arrive about a major fire on the gas pipeline near Malaya Vergunka, emergency teams of the State Unitary Enterprise Luganskgaz went to the scene," the company said.

The situation on the line of contact in Donbas, Ukraine escalated on Thursday morning following reports by the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics of active shelling by Ukrainian armed forces, reported Sputnik.