Kiev Forces Fire Mortars Prohibited Under Minsk Deal at Donetsk Suburbs, DPR Says
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On 18 February, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics announced the evacuation of their citizens to Russia over an escalation of tensions along the line of contact and the possibility of a full-fledged offensive by the Ukrainian army.
Ukrainian forces shelled multiple settlements in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in Ukraine's southeast, using 120-mm calibre mortars prohibited by the Minsk agreements, the DPR mission to the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination on the ceasefire regime (JCCC) said early on Sunday.
A total of twenty 120-mm calibre mortars were launched at the settlements of Komunarivka and Staromykhailivka, according to DPR authorities.
Earlier in the night, the DPR mission said that Kiev forces had fired twelve 120-mm calibre mortars at the city of Donetsk and four 122-mm shells at the Donetsk suburb of Oleksandrivka. The outskirts of Donetsk were also targeted later in the night, with the DPR reporting that Kiev forces had fired four 120-mm calibre mortars at the settlement of Staromykhailivka and twenty four 120-mm calibre mortars at Spartak, another suburb of Donetsk. The settlement of Zaitseve in the DPR was also shelled.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian army launched an attack against the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, with Donbass authorities warning that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would order a full-scale offensive against the republics at any time.
The authorities of the DPR and the LPR started the evacuation of civilians to Russia on Friday.
On 19 February, the Lugansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic announced a general mobilisation.
Tensions on the line of contact between Ukraine and the DPR and LPR have deteriorated in the past days, after Kiev intensified its shelling of the territories of the republics.
© Sputnik
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