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Donetsk’s western suburb comes under shelling from Ukrainian troops — media

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. The settlement of Staromikhailovka in Donetsk’s western suburb has come under shelling from Ukrainian troops, a source in law enforcement agencies of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Tuesday.

"Ukrainian troops opened fire at Staromikhailovka at about 21:30 local time. Shelling is still continues," the Donetsk News Agency quoted him as saying.

The source said Ukrainian troops are using 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and firearms. In all, more than 16 mine have been fired at the settlement.

The Package of Measures to fulfil the September 2014 Minsk agreements, known as Minsk-2, that was signed in Minsk on February 12, 2015 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.

On January 13, the Trilateral Contact Group meeting in the Belarusian capital city Minsk supported the initiative of Russia’s new chief negotiator Boris Gryzlov on yet another, the seventh, ceasefire in Donbass from 00:00 on January 14. However Ukrainian troops reportedly continue to violate ceasefire.