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Ukrainian forces shell Donetsk airport from mortars — DPR defense ministry

According to DPR defense ministry, representatives of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Joint Center for Control and Coordination went to the site
OSCE representatives in Donetsk airport  Mikhail Sokolov/TASS
OSCE representatives in Donetsk airport
© Mikhail Sokolov/TASS

MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. Ukrainian Armed Forces have shelled Donetsk airport from mortars, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) defense ministry told Donetsk News Agency on Monday.

"Around eight mines of 82mm caliber exploded. Representatives of OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] and JCCC [Joint Center for Control and Coordination] went to the site," the DPR defense ministry said.

The ministry said that the incident occurred on Sunday, October 18. No injuries or victims were reported.

DPR defense ministry spokesman Eduard Basurin said earlier that launching the new stage of withdrawing weaponry of less than 100mm caliber in DOR has been postponed from October 18 to October 21 due to regular violations of ceasefire regime by Ukrainian forces.

At the meeting of the Contact Group in Minsk on August 26, the participants confirmed their plans to ensure ceasefire in Donbas from September 1. OSCE’s Special Representative in Ukraine Martin Sajdik said that it is necessary for ensuring security at schools along the contact line. Over the last days, only few violations of ceasefire regime were registered in Donbass, with the most serious case registered overnight to September 5, when one civilian was killed and two others injured.

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 Pyotr Poroshenko.

The Minsk accords envisage ceasefire, weaponry withdrawal, prisoner exchange, local election in Donbass, 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 Lugansk republics have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire and other points of the Minsk agreements.