KAZAN, May 18. /TASS/. Russian forces are doing their best to suppress Ukrainian military firing points in order to reduce the intensity of shelling of Donetsk and other DPR cities, the republic's acting head Denis Pushilin said on Thursday.

"The shelling has indeed increased, the number of casualties and damaged infrastructure facilities has also grown. This is not the first time we have seen this. Our units are taking exhaustive measures to curb this situation; they are working on suppressing [Ukrainian] firing points, doing so knowing that their families are in Donetsk, Makeyevka, Gorlovka. Our guys are fighting, trying to push the enemy back as quickly as possible," he told reporters on the sidelines of the 14th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum" in response to a question from TASS.

Recently, Ukrainian troops have significantly increased the intensity of shelling of towns and villages in the Donetsk People's Republic. During the day on Wednesday, the Ukrainian military fired 368 shells at the region’s settlements. The strikes resulted in five civilian casualties and over 20 wounded.