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Media: Ukrainian army shells Lugansk militia positions

UKRAINE CRISIS

LUGANSK, May 18. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces have shelled people’s militia positions in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) seven times over the past 24 hours, a source in the LPR people’s militia said on Thursday.

"The areas close the inhabited localities of Frunze and Kalinovo, the villages of Sokolniki and Kalinovka came under fire. The Ukrainian military used 120mm mortars, anti-tank missile systems, infantry combat vehicle guns, grenade launchers and small arms," the Luganskinformtsentr news agency quotes the source as saying.

Members of the Contact Group on the settlement in eastern Ukraine have said more than ten times since the autumn of 2014 that an agreement on a ceasefire in the region had been reached.

The Ukrainian armed forces have repeatedly violated the truce, including by opening fire from heavy artillery, mortars and tank guns, which should have been withdrawn in accordance with the Minsk agreements.

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