MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Luhansk has been under fire since Sunday morning, the city is cut off from electricity and there are interruptions in cell phone coverage, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic’s Defense Ministry spokesman Alexei Toporov said.
“From early morning the city has been cut off from electricity, there have been interruptions in cell phone coverage. The whole city is being shelled from early morning, it doesn’t stop and it’s mostly city center that’s being hit. Heavy fighting is underway in the village of Heorhiivka," Toporov stated.
According to Toporov, residential buildings in the city have been damaged as a result of the fighting.
“There have been casualties, but I don’t have concrete data since we have problems with communication,” Toporov added.
In mid-April, Kiev authorities started a special military operation in the east of Ukraine to suppress pro-independence protests, with most clashes taking place in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The fighting intensified dramatically in early July, when Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko announced his decision not to extend a 10-day ceasefire.
Moscow has repeatedly called on Kiev to stop the bloodshed and seek peaceful resolution through nationwide dialogue.
