Donetsk militiamen report 253 Ukrainian shell attacks in past 24 hours
DONETSK. Jan 7 (Interfax) - Ukrainian troops have violated truce over 250 times in the past 24 hours, the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said.
"The Ukrainian armed forces have violated ceasefire 253 times over the past 24 hours. The enemy attacked the republic with 28 artillery shells of the 122- and 152-millimeter caliber, 69 rounds of the 82- and 120-millimeter caliber, as well as 90 munitions from various types of grenade launchers. In addition, infantry fighting vehicles and small arms were used," DPR deputy operations commander Eduard Basurin said at a briefing on Saturday.
The attacks targeted ten populated areas, he said. "As a result of shelling, four private houses were damaged in the village of Kulikovo. Luckily, there were no civilian casualties. The populated area has been left without power and gas supplies. Also, the village Serhiyivka remained without light as a result of damage to the power line near the village of Sakhanka," he said.
He also said that the DPR had foiled a deadly terrorist attack. "This morning, at 7:30 a.m., two OZM-72 mines were discovered in Donetsk, planted near the location of one of the DPR people's militia units, within 40-50 centimeters from the barracks' fence. If detonated, those mines could lead to casualties among civilians who happened to be near by," Basurin said.
