What is going on in Ukraine? Why has the fighting suddenly flared up????

Avdiivka is the current flashpoint in this fight.

via BBC

Fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian armed forces is escalating, officials have warned.
A higher number of ceasefire violations were reported between Sunday and Monday evenings, compared with the previous 24 hours, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said Monday.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said eight Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Donbass region in two days.
"Russian occupation forces carried out massive attacks across the contact line using all available weapons, including (artillery, mortars and tanks) -- all prohibited by the Minsk agreements -- and small arms," the ministry said. At least 26 troops were wounded.

The above is the Ukrainian side of the fight.  The Russian Foreign Ministry put out this simple but quite clear statement, from the same article.

 

We urge the Ukrainian authorities to immediately put an end to the armed provocations in #Donbass https://t.co/x5DE1vKZEg pic.twitter.com/9KaoAQglyb

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) January 31, 2017

Story here.

If you watched the attached vid the observers are stating that both sides are in violation.  What has me scratching my head are two points.  They talk about the "Viking" symbology of the Ukrainian fighters.  I find that interesting the last I saw they were sporting Nazi swastikas.  The next thing is that IF the Russians are behind the sudden flare up it makes no sense.  Why would Putin launch an attack shortly after talking to Trump with the strong possibility of crushing sanctions (which are affecting both Russia and the EU) lifted?

What is going on in Ukraine!  This makes no sense.  On a side note I have heard a conspiracy theory.  Some are saying that the "National Security Elite" are demanding that Trump maintain the sanctions and position US troops in Europe to "deter" aggression.  Never mind that Putin and Trump seem to have the ability to actually reach agreements on a number of subjects, most importantly tamping down the violence in the Middle East and solving the refugee problem.  The NSE don't care about that....at least that's how the theory goes.

I don't know what to believe.  The only thing I'm sure of is that we're facing a concerted information warfare offensive by both sides.  We are in the land of mirrors.