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Kiev troops open fire on localities north of Donetsk

Earlier in the day, the DPR defence ministry reported 12 cases of the ceasefire violations on the part of Ukrainian troops

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Ukrainian armed units have opened fire on the localities north of the city of Donetsk, a source with the defence ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) told the Donetsk news agency on Saturday.

"Around 10.00 p.m. (7.00 p.m. GMT) Ukrainian military opened fire on the Volvo-Centre, the village of Zhabichevo and the area around Donetsk airport," he said adding the shelling was opened from the village of Peski controlled by Kiev forces, with the use of mortars 82mm, grenade launchers, small arms and infantry fighting vehicles.

Earlier in the day, the DPR defence ministry reported 12 cases of the ceasefire violations on the part of Ukrainian troops. On Friday, a woman was killed in shelling in the village of Zaitsevo (controlled by the DPR militias) to the north of Gorlovka and also School No.15 sustained damage.

The Package of Measures, known as Minsk-2, envisaged a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk starting from February 15 and subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also laid out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.

In line with an agreement reached in Minsk at a meeting of the Contact Group on settling the situation in east Ukraine, a complete ceasefire was established from September 1 at the contact line in Donbass. Still, the DPR regularly registers separate instances of shelling on the part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Under the Package of Measures to implement the Minsk agreements (Minsk-2) adopted on February 12, 2015, 100 mm artillery guns and weapons of larger calibre are to be pulled out to a distance of 50 kilometres from each other; MRLS - to 70 km; MRLS Tornado, Uragan and Smerch as well as the Tochka tactical operational missile complex to 140 km.

In accordance with the September supplement to the package of measures, guns under 100 mm calibre, tanks and mortar launchers, including those of 120 mm calibre, were supposed to have been withdrawn before November 12.

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