MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/. Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian troops have shelled the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic 253 times, an officer from the republic’s defense ministry said on Monday, noting that three militias were wounded.
"The situation in the Donetsk People’s Republic remains tense," the officer said.
According to the defense ministry, the DPR-controlled part of Zaitsevo settlement, the settlement of Spartak, the area of the airport in the north of Donetsk, Sakhanka settlement in southern DPR and the towns of Dokuchayevsk and Yasinovataya were the hardest shelled from weapons banned by the Minsk agreements.
All in all, Ukrainian troops fired 89 mortar rounds from mortars of 82mm and 120mm caliber, also using arms of armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers and firearms, the Donetsk News Agency quoted the source as saying.
The Contact Group signed the key package of measures for peaceful settlement in Donbass, known as Minsk-2, on February 12. Under the document, the sides are to withdraw heavy weapons from the contact line, namely artillery systems of 100 mm caliber or more to the distance of at least 50 km, multiple rocket launcher systems (MLRS) to the distance of 70 km and most powerful Tornado-S, Uragan and Smerch MLRS, as well as tactical missile systems Tochka/Tochka U to the distance of 140 km. In late September 2015, a supplement to the Minsk-2 package was signed withdraw weapons under 100mm calibre to a distance of 15 kilometres for the line of engagement.
On January 13, the Trilateral Contact Group meeting in the Belarusian capital city Minsk agreed on yet another, the seventh, ceasefire in Donbass from 00:00 on January 14. However Ukrainian troops reportedly continue to violate ceasefire.