DPR defense ministry registers almost 300 instances of shelling by Ukrainian military in 24 hrs
ZAITSEVE (Donetsk region). March 14 (Interfax) - The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic recorded 294 ceasefire violations in the past 24 hours, Eduard Basurin of the DPR Defense Ministry has said.
"The situation in the Donetsk People's Republic has escalated dramatically in the past week. The Ukrainian forces shelled the territory of the republic 294 times in the past 24 hours. The forces used tanks 10 times against Yasynuvata, fired 40 shells from 120mm mortars on the territory of Lozove, 34 shells on the territory of Mykolaivka and 28 shells of the same caliber on Staromykhailivka. In total, over the course of the shellings, the opposing side used tanks 15 times, while 120mm mortars 120 times and 82mm mortars 105 times. The enemy also used infantry fighting vehicles, various kinds of grenade launchers, air defense systems and small arms," Basurin told reporters on Monday.
The Ukraine military shelled the territory of the DPR more than 2,000 times over the week, including 982 times from heavy weapons, Basurin said.
The heavy weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements were used in the most intense manner in the shellings of the populated areas of Zaitseve, Spartak, Staromykhailivka, Zhabunki, Dokuchayevsk, Vesele, the Gagarin mine, Kominternove, Oleksandrivka, Yasynuvata, Lozove, Sakhanka, Bezimenne, Sosnovske, Mykolaivka, the area around Donetsk airport, the Volvo Center, Donetsk's Petrovsky and Kuybyshevsky districts, according to Basurin.
"The shellings by the Ukrainian armed forces have left one DPR serviceman and two civilians injured, eight houses ruined. In Mykolaivka, a water tower has been damaged. A direct hit with a Ukrainian shell resulted in a dwelling house going up in flames in Zaitseve," Basurin said.
"Violation of the Minsk agreements on the part of the Ukrainian armed forces has become persistent. However, no sanctions have been announced for the violations mentioned, no criminal cases have been opened for military crimes, and nobody bears responsibility for the deaths and maiming injuries of people," Basurin concluded.
The situation around Horlivka remains critical, he added.
"The situation in the Horlivka sector near the Donetsk-Horlivka highway tended to escalate over the past week and remains critical now. The Ukrainian Armed Forces made multiple attempts to take the territory. And you know the result," Basurin said.
In addition, the DPR intelligence service spotted some units in the Mariupol sector, in which Turkish citizens are present, he said.
"The Ukrainian president's visit to Turkey and his meeting with the head of state have already paid off. We have learnt from our sources that some units in the Mariupol sector have appeared to have Turkish nationals in their ranks. This fact speaks volumes. The president and the highest ranks of Ukraine are ready to move heaven and earth in order to fan the fire of the conflict and to sacrifice lives - not only the lives of their soldiers and citizens but also of foreigners," Basurin said.