DONETSK (Sputnik) — The Ukrainian forces have fired more than 50 shells since 4:10 p.m. local time (13:10 GMT), Deputy Defense Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin said Sunday.
"Ukrainian forces use heavy weaponry against the residential areas of Donetsk, they have already fired more than 50 shells from the weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreement starting from 4:10 p.m., despite the respect of ceasefire by our side," Basurin told reporters.
He added that Kiev had also started to deploy additional troops of Ukraine's Armed Forces and National Guard to the eastern Ukrainian regions, which could prove Ukraine's preparations for a large-scale offensive against Donbas militias, as well as for sabotage activities against the civilian infrastructure in the region.
Ealier in the day, a representativeof the DPR authorities told Sputnik that Kiev's forces were shelling the Zaitseve village near the town of Horlivka in Donbass.
The situation in the Donetsk region has escalated harshly recently, with over 40 people reported dead and more than 100 wounded in the clashes.
In February 2015, Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Since then, the ceasefire regime has been regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.
