DONETSK, July 23. /TASS/. Casualties among the militia forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) hit the lowest point over the past week since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the Donetsk News Agency reported on Saturday, citing its calculations.

According to the data provided by the office of DPR Human Rights Envoy Darya Morozova, 31 militia fighters were killed in clashes with the Ukrainian military on July 15 - 21, which is on average half the figure registered in previous weeks and months. The highest casualties were registered in late March - April: more than 200 personnel over a week during the active fighting for Mariupol.

The number of civilian casualties also tends to decrease. In particular, 19 civilians were killed over the past week or 25% fewer than in the previous period, the Donetsk News Agency reported.

In all, 8,233 civilians, including 116 children, have been killed in the Ukrainian army’s bombardments since the conflict broke out in 2014, it said.

The DPR mission to the Joint Ceasefire Control and Coordination Center reported on Saturday that 262 civilians, including 16 children, have been killed as a result of Kiev’s shelling attacks since the escalation on February 17.

The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Russia recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.