Donetsk, Oct 27 – DAN. Thirty-seven Russian citizens reside in Staromaryevka that has been occupied by Kiev forces today, the DPR Head Denis Pushilin said today, speaking on the Russia 24 TV channel.

"A large number of people with Russian citizenship, who enjoy almost the same rights as all other Russian citizens, become targets of Ukrainian aggression. The latest example is Staromaryevka, where 37 Russian citizens live, the majority of them cast their ballots in Russian legislative election. Now they are subject to actions banned by the Geneva Conventions," he said.

Staromaryevka residents "are in abominable humanitarian conditions, there's not enough heating and water", he said.

Food supplies to the township have also been severed, according to Pushilin.

Ukrainian forces have occupied the township of Staromaryevka in the grey zone today. The region has seen the escalation all along the line of contact, as Kiev forces launched massive attacks on populated areas and allegedly used Turkish drones to blast a petrol tank in Donetsk. Luckily, there were no victims and Ukraine hastily denied using Turkish drones over the DPR territory, saying that Bayraktar-type UAVs were used to launch guided bombs.

He did not comment on the fact that using combat aviation or UAVs in the 30km wide security zone along the line of contact is banned under the Minsk Agreements. *ot