DONETSK, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - Gunfire between the Ukrainian security forces and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) independence supporters has resumed in the vicinity of the Donetsk airport, RIA Novosti reporter said Saturday.
Sounds of artillery, gunfire and explosions are heard in the Kiev and Kuibyshev areas of Donetsk, which are adjacent to the airport.
Earlier, the representative of the independence supporters, known as the commander of the airport defense, said that the Ukrainian side was pulling significant reinforcements to the airport.
According to him, the security forces constantly attempted to break into the area of the airport, which is now generally controlled by militias. Only in the last two days, security forces have made two such attempts involving infantry, armor and artillery. They managed to take control of an old airport control tower, where they set up two mortars. Independence fighters reportedly killed 70 security forces soldiers and destroyed several units of military equipment.
Kiev forces started fighting independence supporters in Ukraine’s southeastern regions in mid-April, when Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation in response to the local residents» refusal to recognize the country’s new government.
On September 5, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the two sides during a trilateral meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine. On September 19, the Contact Group met again to agree on more details regarding the implementation of the ceasefire. However, both sides subsequently accuse each other of violating the truce.
