Donetsk, Kyiv trade truce breach accusations
DONETSK/KYIV. Aug 15 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian armed forces have launched 64 shelling attacks on the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in the past 24 hours, wounding a local woman, a spokesman for the DPR operational command told reporters on Tuesday.
"The Ukrainian armed forces have committed 64 truce violations in the past 24 hours. They shelled districts of 17 populated localities of the republic, using mortars, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers, and small arms against them," he said.
The strikes damaged two houses in Yasynuvata, a gas main in Kruta Balka and seven houses in Donetsk, the spokesman said.
"Nina Butskaya, born in 1946, suffered a fragmentation wound at 20, Constitution Street in the populated locality of Sakhanka, where a gas main was also damaged," he said.
In addition to that, power lines were damaged in the south of the DPR, leaving six localities without electricity, he said.
A spokesman for the militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) told Interfax that the Ukrainian armed forces had committed eight truce violations in the past 24 hours.
"The Ukrainian army has breached the truce eight times over the past 24 hours, using 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, infantry fighting vehicles, and small arms," he said.
The Ukrainian army shelled militia positions near Zhelobok, Donetskyi, Holubivske, Kalynove, Kalynivka, and Lohvynove, the LPR militia said.
The strikes destroyed two garages, an unoccupied house and an outbuilding in the village of Donetskyi, and damaged a high-pressure gas main in the village of Holubivske, it said.
"No civilians or [militia] servicemen were hurt," it said.
The press center of the headquarters of Kyiv's military operation in south-eastern Ukraine said that militia forces had violated the truce 31 times and eight Ukrainian servicemen had been wounded in the past 24 hours.
"A tendency toward a deterioration of the situation is being observed. Illegal armed units have violated the truce a total of 31 times in the past 24 hours. Eight of our servicemen have been wounded," the headquarters said.
Furthermore, there have been almost non-stop shelling attacks on Ukrainian army positions in the vicinity of Avdiivka, where the militia allegedly targeted Ukrainian fortifications near the industrial zone almost ceaselessly from 6:00 p.m. until midnight. Grenade launchers and large-caliber machine-guns were used in the attacks, Kyiv said.
In the Donetsk sector, Ukrainian positions near Kamenka and Luhanske came under fire at the end of the day. Five Ukrainian servicemen were wounded in a mortar strike on Ukrainian fortifications in the vicinity of Verkhnetoretske.
In the Mariupol sector, militia forces actively fired on Mariinka. Another Ukrainian serviceman was wounded in a grenade launcher attack on Ukrainian positions in the vicinity of Vodyane.