Ukrainian Armed Forces shelling 2 villages - self-proclaimed DPR
DONETSK/KYIV. March 13 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian side opened fire from tank guns at the outskirts of Donetsk and Yasynuvata a few hours ago, the Donetsk News Agency said on Monday with a reference to a source in law enforcement structures of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
"The Ukrainian side began to shell the villages of Yakovlivka and Spartak from 152mm artillery and tank guns at approximately 4:00 p.m.," the source said.
Shelling of the DPR's territory is continuing at the moment, the source said. The Ukrainian side has fired at least 50 shells, the source said.
A civilian was wounded in shelling of Donetsk, the DPR Defense Ministry, in turn, said.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces started shelling the city of Donetsk at 5:23 p.m., they are using heavy artillery proscribed by the Minsk Agreements, a building was damaged and a man was injured in shelling, the information about victims is being verified," a DPR Defense Ministry representative told reporters.
Heavy artillery shelling of the village of Spartak is also conducted, and six building caught fire there, the representative said.
"The DPR Emergency Situations Service cannot get to the site due to shelling. The area around the Donetsk water purification plant is also shelled; the JCCC [Joint Center for Coordination and Control] was evacuated to the basement of the Donetsk railway station for safety purposes," the representative said.
Kyiv, in turn, said that the positions of the Ukrainian troops in Donbas were shelled over 40 times on Monday.
"A total of 42 instances of shelling of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' positions were recorded since the beginning of the day. [...] A Ukrainian defender was wounded," the press center for the military operation's headquarters said on Facebook.
The enemy shelled the strongholds near Pavlopil from 122mm artillery systems in the Mariupol sector, the press center said. Fire from small arms, heavy-caliber machine guns and grenade launchers was opened at the strongholds near Shyrokyne, Vodyane and Chermalyk, and a sniper operated in Novotroitske.
In the Donetsk sector, the enemy continued to fire from heavy-caliber machine guns, grenade launchers and 82mm mortars at the strongholds near Opytne, Avdiivka, Verkhnyotoretske, Zaitseve, Luhanske, Novhorodske and Svitlodarske, the press service said. A tank shelled Avdiivka and the Butovka mine.
In the Luhansk sector, the enemy fired from grenade launchers of various systems and following it from 82mm and 120mm mortars at the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Krymske and Popasna and from small arms and a tripod-mounted man-portable anti-tank gun near Novooleksandrivka, the press center said.