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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Kiev accused of firing incendiary shells at village in east Ukraine

No one was wounded in the attack

© Mikhail Sokolov//TASS

MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Two houses in the village of Spartak in the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic were burnt to the ground in an overnight shelling carried out by the Kiev forces, a local official said on Wednesday.

"Two houses on the central square were burnt. Incendiary shells were fired," an official at the regional administration told the Donetsk news agency.

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No one was wounded in the attack as the residents had recently moved to another place, he said, adding: "When the owner came back for some stuff, he saw the site of fire."

The village of Spartak is located near the embattled Donetsk airport and borders the Kiev district of the capital. It comes under shelling conducted by Kiev forces every day. Almost all the local infrastructure has been destroyed and is unlikely to be restored.

The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic have repeatedly taken steps to evacuate the citizens of Spartak, but the majority of them refuse to leave their homes.

The silence regime officially came into force in the Donbass region on February 15. The demand to halt hostilities was envisaged by the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements signed by the Contact Group on February 12.

However, in recent weeks the situation in eastern Ukraine has deteriorated significantly, with artillery bombardments growing in number and reports of civilian casualties appearing again.

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Eastern Ukraine

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