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Donetsk militia accuse Kiev of violating Donbas ceasefire 10 times over past 24 hours

As a result of shellings, one DPR militiaman was reportedly injured

MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Ukrainian forces have violated ceasefire 10 times in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over last 24 hours, DPR defense ministry’s press service said on Wednesday.

"(Ukrainian forces) violated ceasefire regime 10 times. Over last 24 hours they fired more than 20 mines of 120mm and 82mm caliber. As a result of shellings, one DPR militiaman was injured," Donetsk News Agency quoted a DPR defense ministry spokesperson as saying.

Kiev forces shelled the settlements near Gorlovka — Ozeryanovka, Zaytsevo, Spartak — and Donetsk airport, as well as the village of Sakhanka in DPR’s south. According to DPR defense ministry, Kiev forces used mortars, infantry fighting vehicles and small arms.

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 Donbas. 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.