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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Donetsk republic claims Kiev troops violated ceasefire 30 times over past 24 hours

The shellings were carried out with the use of tanks, antitank guided missiles and grenade launchers

© Mikhail Sokolov/TASS

MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. Kiev forces have opened fire on the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic 30 times over the past 24 hours, a DPR defense ministry official said on Thursday.

"Over the past 24 hours, 30 ceasefire regime violations by Ukraine’s Armed Forces have been registered," the official was quoted by the Donetsk news agency as saying.

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The shellings were carried out with the use of tanks, antitank guided missiles, grenade launchers and small arms. The Kiev forces also used mortars 24 times, the DPR ministry official said.

A total of 12 settlements of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic have come under fire, including Donetsk, Gorlovka, Debaltsevo and also the embattled Donetsk airport.

Information on damage and casualties among the civilian population is being verified, the official said, stressing that the Donetsk republic’s militias did not return fire.

A day of mourning is held on Thursday in the Donetsk republic to pay tribute to civilians who have been killed in shelling opened from positions of Ukrainian military units.

On Wednesday, the spokesman for the DPR Defense Ministry, Eduard Basurin, said "as a result of heavy shelling by the Ukrainian military, five civilians were killed: one woman, three men and an 11-year-old girl." Moreover, nine civilians were wounded, including three women and three children.

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