DONETSK (Sputnik) – Over 160 people in the city of Horlivka in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Donetsk have fallen victim to shelling conducted by Ukrainian forces in the past six months, the mayoral office said on Friday.
There are 16 children among the 164 Horlivka residents killed by Kiev forces, the city mayoral office said as cited by the Donetsk news agency. About 500 others were injured in the past 6 months, 42 of whom are children.
The shelling has led to the damage of about 2,000 buildings in Horlivka, over 530 of them being residential, the mayoral office added.
On Wednesday, Kiev forces shelled Horlivka using tanks and artillery, according to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
On Saturday, DPR said that Ukrainian government forces shelled northern and northwestern suburbs of Horlivka, which led to a fire that cut electric power and water supplies in parts of the city.
Horlivka was severely damaged by the shelling of Kiev troops at the beginning of this year, when fighting in the Donetsk region intensified. Other violence hotspots at the time included the Donetsk Airport and the village of Shirokino.
Kiev forces launched a military operation in Ukraine’s southeastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in April, 2014 in response to local residents’ refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government.
According to UN estimates, the fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed over 6,500 people.
