DONETSK, February 13. /TASS/. Over 4,400 civilians have been killed in the Ukrainian army’s bombardments of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) since the escalation in February last year, the DPR mission to the Joint Control and Coordination Center on Ukraine’s War Crimes reported on Monday.

"In all, 4,438 [people], including 132 children, have lost their lives," the mission said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel.

A further 4,092 civilians, including 259 children, have been wounded in the Ukrainian army’s bombardments, it said.

A total of 9,791 houses and 2,410 civilian infrastructure facilities, including 136 healthcare and 480 educational institutions and also 69 critical infrastructure sites, have been damaged in Kiev’s shelling since the escalation, the DPR mission reported.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 last year 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 Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.