DONETSK, January 1. /TASS/. The acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, told TASS on Sunday that the air defense system intercepted many shells that the Ukrainian army fired at the territory of the republic on New Year's Night.
"Our air defense system was actively working. Otherwise, there would have been far more strikes. Well-coordinated work by our counter-battery struggle personnel and artillery did not allow the enemy to carry out these attacks with impunity," Pushilin said.
Earlier in the day the Ukrainian artillery shelled Donetsk, Yasinovataya, Makeyevka, Gorlovka and other communities.
On December 20, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pushilin asked for help in strengthening the air defense system of his republic in order to secure the cities. The DPR leader stressed that the Ukrainian military was intentionally targeting residential areas.