DONETSK, March 4. /TASS/. Over 90 people were killed and almost 500 others were wounded in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the week as a result of the Ukrainian army’s hostilities, DPR Ombudswoman Darya Morozova said on Friday

"In the period from February 25 to March 4, 2022, 77 servicemen and 14 civilians were killed on DPR territory. As many as 406 servicemen and 73 civilians were wounded," the Donetsk News Agency quoted the ombudswoman as saying.

Since the beginning of the year, 112 people have been killed and 552 others have been wounded as a result of the Ukrainian military’s hostilities. Over the period of the conflict, 5,150 people have been killed, including 91 children, she added.

The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on the morning of February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military over past 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.

President Putin said in a televised address on the morning of February 24 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 Ukraine in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories and the operation was aimed at demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine.