Donetsk, Jan 20 – DAN. Ukrainian forces shelled Donetsk People’s Republic more than four thousand times over the past week, the situation remains tense, a DPR defense official said.
“The number of strikes amounted to 4,348. Artillery, tanks and mortars were used to shell the Republic in 1,031 cases,” DPR Operations Command deputy commander Colonel Eduard Basurin told a news briefing at the Donetsk News Agency on Friday.
Basurin said that 33 towns and villages were hit this week, a three-year-old was injured in Dolomitnoye by Kiev forces strikes, another child received psychological trauma. Twenty households were damaged in Elenovka, Yasnoye, Gorlovka and Petrovskiy district of Donetsk.
DPR intelligence reported a battery of Ukrainian self-propelled artillery systems Gvozdika, up to tank battalion, APC company, IFV platoon on Gorlovka axis.
MLRS Grad and Smerch battalions and two 120mm mortar battaries were revealed on Donetsk axis.
122mm self-propelled howitzers battery and 82mm mortar battery and two tank companies were located near Mariupol.
DPR intelligence reports Kiev’s regular deployment of military equipment to the conflict zone. Under The Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements signed by the Contact Group on February 12, 2015, the sides have to withdraw their artillery systems of 100 mm calibre or more to a distance of 50 kilometres apart from each other, multiple launch rocket systems Tornado, Uragan and Smerch to a distance of 70 kilometres and Tactical Missile Systems Tochka to a distance of 140 kilometres. The follow-up to the Minsk Agreements signed in September provides for the parties’ withdrawal of their artillery systems of a calibre less than 100 mm, as well as tanks and mortars. *ot