DONETSK, February 27. /TASS/. Some 4,449 civilians were killed by Ukrainian bombardments of populated localities in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) since the escalation began on February 17, 2022, the DPR’s mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of issues related to Ukrainian war crimes (JCCC) reported on Monday.
"According to official data by the DPR's JCCC, in the 375 days of the escalation (since February 17, 2022), <...> in all, 4,449 [civilians], including 132 children <...> were killed," the mission said on its Telegram channel.
It also noted that 4,147 people, including 266 children, were wounded, with 93 civilian casualties, including 8 children, from blasts by antipersonnel mines, known as PFM-1, Lepestok, banned by the Ottawa Convention.
In the 375 days of the escalation, 15,888 shooting attacks were recorded, of which 15,556 were discharged from heavy weapons. The enemy fired 101,665 rounds of ammunition, including 39 Tochka-U missiles, 239 HIMARS, 18 BM-30 Smerch and 258 BM-27 Uragan rockets, as well as 13,103 projectiles from 122-mm multiple rocket launchers, and 22,839 155-mm shells.
The situation at the Donbass engagement line flared up on February 17, 2022. On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years."