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Ukrainian forces violate ceasefire regime 37 times over last 24 hours — DPR

The settlement of Spartak and Donetsk airport came under most intensive artillery and mortar fire

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Ukrainian forces have violated ceasefire regime 37 times over the last 24 hours, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s republic (DPR) defense ministry said on Wednesday.

"The number of shellings stood at 37 over the last 24 hours. A total of 52 artillery shells of 152mm and 122mm caliber were fired at the republic’s territory, along with 15 tank shells and 136 mines of 82mm and 120mm caliber. Grenade launchers, anti-tank and small arms were also used [by Ukrainian forces]," DPR defense ministry told Donetsk News Agency.

The DPR defense ministry said Ukrainian forces shelled towns of Gorlovka and Yasinovataya and settlements of Styla, Vasilyevka and Zhabichevo. "The settlement of Spartak and Donetsk airport came under most intensive artillery and mortar fire," the ministry added.

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 Minsk accords envisage ceasefire, 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.