17 Aug 2018 17:41

DPR accuses Ukraine of firing on Donbas village during Red Cross visit

DONETSK. Aug 17 (Interfax) - Ukrainian troops shelled Staromykhailivka at a time when representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross were visiting the village, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said.

"On August 17, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross came to the village of Staromykhailivka to provide humanitarian aid to local residents. Both sides had been informed of the visit of the Mission and had given written security guarantees. During the work of the ICRC, a BMP-2 [infantry fighting vehicle] opened fire on the village of Staromykhailivka from the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, attacking from the direction of Krasnohorivka," a DPR representative at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) told reporters.

As a result, "a privately owned cow at 18 Shevchenko Street was killed, and building materials earlier brought by the ICRC to 12 Shevchenko Street were destroyed," damaging two houses and prompting ICRC representatives to take cover in a shelter.

"For the time being, the attack on Staromykhailivka has stopped. ICRC representatives have been evacuated from the populated locality," the DPR representative said.

Earlier on Friday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack that OSCE Special Monitoring Mission members had been subjected near Holmivskyi in the Donetsk region.

"We fully condemn the attacks on SMM monitors. Their safety and free travel ought to be guaranteed by Russia and their proxies," ministry spokesperson Mariana Betsa posted on Twitter on Friday.

It was reported earlier that an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission patrol had been attacked by unknown individuals on the northeastern outskirts of Holmivskyi in an area uncontrolled by Kyiv, 49 kilometers northeast of Donetsk. The attack on five SMM personnel and two armored vehicles occurred on August 16.