Local Editor

Pro-Russian forces in Ukraine said they have expelled 7 US and European members of an international non-governmental organization [NGO] for carrying out spying activities in the country's eastern regions.

On Thursday, the pro-Russians' self-declared ministry of security said in a statement that seven American and European members of the International Rescue Committee [IRC] had been expelled from the eastern regions under their control.

"The IRC organization, which works under the auspices of the US international development agency, was for several months acting in an illegal manner," the statement said.

According to the pro-Moscow activists, the Westerners were working without authorization and "actively attempting to establish contacts with [pro-Russian] representatives in order to obtain information on the situation and social problems."

Further, they said that the IRC members also collected personal data and questioned locals on their attitude toward the pro-Russian authorities while working "under cover of providing humanitarian aid to residents."

The statement added that the NGO's office had been closed and the aid agency members were expelled into Kiev-controlled areas.

Donetsk and Luhansk, the two mainly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine regions, had been hit by deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to break up pro-Russia protests there.

Though, the Ukrainian government and pro-Russia forces signed a ceasefire deal brokered in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in February to end tensions in the country's east, but sporadic clashes still continued in the restive areas despite the truce agreement.

According to the United Nations, more than 6,000 people had died in Ukraine's conflict. Around 1.5 million people had also been forced to flee their homes over the past months of the turmoil.

Consequently, Kiev and the West accuse the Kremlin of having a hand in the crisis. However, Moscow categorically rejects the allegation, blaming the US and its allies for escalating the tension in the violence-ravaged eastern Ukraine through arming the Ukrainian army.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team