DPR reports over 500 Ukrainian army shell attacks over past 24 hrs
DONETSK. Feb 5 (Interfax) - The situation in Donbas has stabilized, 524 shell attacks have been recorded over the past 24 hours, Eduard Basurin of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Defense Ministry told journalists.
"The situation in the Donetsk People's Republic has a tendency for stabilization. However, the shell attacks from the Armed Forces positions do not stop," Basurin said.
"Hostiles continue shelling the populated areas in the republic, predominantly hitting the residential quarters," he said.
"The Ukrainian criminal forces fired the DPR territory 524 times over the past 24 hours. In the overall number of [the shell attacks] the artillery was used 25 times, mortars of different calibers 158 times, infantry combat vehicles - 40 times, anti-aircraft launchers, grenade launchers and small arms - 301 times," he said.
As a result of the Ukrainian army shell attacks on the Yasne populated area (a Dokuchayevsk suburb), a residential house, which is situated at 13, Bohdan Khmelnytsky street, was damaged, a heating main and power lines were broken that cut off electricity to the whole populated area, he said.
Furthermore, the Ukrainian side barred the DPR representatives in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) from visiting the Donetsk water filtration station on Saturday, he said. "Meanwhile, OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug supported them that breaches the agreements on representation of the Republics in the Joint Center,"
Such a behavior by the Ukrainian party in the JCCC can be linked to the lack of Kyiv representatives' willingness to conduct direct dialogue with representatives of the republics, he also said.
At this point, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said earlier on Sunday that the Russian party to the JCCC had unilaterally restricted the number of employees admitted to repair on the contact line.
"The Russian party to the JCCC as of 6 a.m., on February 5, unilaterally limited to ten people the number of employees and bomb disposal experts required for repairs, while at least 30 people are needed for their qualitative performance," Kyiv said.
The military operation headquarters said that this "largely hampers restoration of the damaged infrastructure in Donbas."
As earlier reported, restoration of the power grids, which provide electricity to the Donetsk filtration station itself, Avdiivka, Yasynuvata and a part of the Donetsk city, but damaged in the shelling, is underway near the filtration station.