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Ukrainian forces fire more than 90 mines and shells at Donetsk’s outskirts overnight

According to the source, the settlements of Spartak and Zhabichevo came under fire, along with the Volvo Center and Donetsk airport

© AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

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Gorlovka suburbs come under shelling from Ukrainian troops — DPR law enforcers

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Kiev forces have fired more than 90 mines and shells at Donetsk’s northern outskirts last night, a source in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) security agencies said on Monday.

"Ukrainian battalions fired 79 mines of 120mm caliber at settlements located to the north of Donetsk at night," the source said. "Eleven shots were fired from tanks and four from D-30 howitzers by the enemy," Donetsk News Agency quoted him as saying.

According to the source, the settlements of Spartak and Zhabichevo came under fire, along with the Volvo Center and Donetsk airport.

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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. Over the last weeks, only few violations of ceasefire regime were registered in Donbass. Observing ceasefire by both sides was one of the main conditions for completing withdrawal of weaponry of less than 100mm caliber from the contact line in Donbas.

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 election 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.

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