Donetsk, Dec 23 – DAN. Ukrainian forces shelled Donetsk People’s Republic more than eight thousand times over the past week, a DPR defense official said.

“The number of strikes declined, compared to the previous week, and amounted to 8,043. Artillery, tanks and mortars were used to shell the Republic in 2,679 cases,” DPR Operations Command deputy commander Colonel Eduard Basurin told a news briefing at the Donetsk News Agency on Friday.

Basurin said that 18 towns and villages were hit this week, 25 households were damaged on the outskirts of Donetsk, Gorlovka, Yasinovataya, Dokuchaevsk and in southern territories.

Kiev forces fired 250 artillery and mortar rounds on Thursday evening targeting Debaltsevo area and other frontline territories. *ot