Donetsk, Jan 3 – DAN. Ukrainian forces shelled DPR territory almost 300 times over the past 24 hours, DPR Operations Command deputy commander Eduard Basurin told a news briefing here on Tuesday.

“Ukrainian gunmen violated the ceasefire 282 times over the past 24 hours,” Basurin said. “The enemy fired 124 120mm and 82mm mortar rounds and 130 grenade launcher rounds at DPR territory and also used infantry fighting vehicle cannons and small arms.”

Ukrainian forces targeted Gorlovka and its suburban villages Zaitsevo, Zheleznaya Balka and Mikhailovka, Yasinovataya and neighbouring villages Krutaya Balka and Vasilyevka, Mineralnoye, Kominternovo, Leninskoye and Sakhanka villages in DPR south, Zhabichevo village north of Donetsk and Aleksandrovka and Trudovskiye villages in Donetsk’s Petrovskiy district.

DPR intelligence again revealed Ukrainian heavy weapons near the contact line on Mariupol axis. In Novotroitskoye village area, an Akatsia 152mm self-propelled howitzer was spotted, three tanks arrived in Granitnoye village area, three D-30 towed howitzers were spotted in Lebedinskoye village area, and three Gvozdika 122mm self-propelled howitzers strengthened Ukrainian army units’ positions in Berdyanskoye village area.

During New Year partying in vicinity of Kiev-controlled Maryinka town, two Ukrainian gunmen were killed and another two wounded by celebratory gunfire, and in a similar incident in 36th separate marine brigade in Shirokino village area (southern part of the contact line – eds Donetsk News Agency), one marine died and another two were wounded, Basurin said.

The above information clearly shows the absurdity of Kiev’s plans to compel DPR and LPR to come under control of Ukrainian authorities within the next 18 months, which Ukrainian Deputy Minister for “Occupied Territories” Georgiy Tuka earlier announced. “Considering battle- and non-battle casualty statistics, they’ll have no one to do the "compelling" in half a year,” the military official said.

In 2016, Ukrainian forces violated the ceasefire more than 143,000 times, damaging or destroying 820 houses and infrastructure facilities in DPR. *jk