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Donetsk republic says Kiev forces violated ceasefire 52 times over last 24 hours

One person was killed in the shelling

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. The Ukrainian forces have violated the ceasefire regime 52 times over the last 24 hours, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) defense ministry said on Thursday.

"The Ukrainian side violated ceasefire regime 52 times over the last 24 hours. The enemy continues to use heavy weaponry," the Donetsk News Agency quoted the DPR defense ministry as saying.

The Kiev forces used artillery, tanks, anti-aircraft guns, grenade launchers and small arms, the ministry added. The Donetsk airport was shelled by the Ukrainian forces, along with the towns of Yasinovatay and Gorlovka. Among the shelled settlements were Zaytsevo, Golmovsky, Zhabunki, Nizhneye Lozovoye, Kalinovka, Spartak, Shirokaya Balka, Belaya Kamenka, Novaya Laspa, Abakumovka, Nikolayevka, Staromikhaylovka and Krasny Oktyabr.

According to DPR defense ministry spokesman Eduard Basurin, one person was killed in the shelling.

It was earlier reported that the Ukrainian forces were shelling Gorlovka and Spartak throughout the night. The Gorlovka mayor said that one woman was injured in the shellings. Residential houses were destroyed, and a gas pipeline and power lines were damaged.

Minsk agreements on Ukraine

Ceasefire is envisaged by the Minsk agreements on Ukraine. The Minsk accords were signed on February 12, after negotiations in the so-called "Normandy format" in the Belarusian capital Minsk, bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The talks lasted for around 14 hours. Simultaneously, a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukrainian settlement was held in Minsk.

The Minsk also envisage heavy weaponry withdrawal, prisoner exchange, local elections in Donbas, constitutional reform in Ukraine and establishing working sub-groups on security, political, economy and humanitarian components of the Minsk accords.

The Ukrainian forces and the self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire and other points of the Minsk agreements.