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Ukrainian forces intensify Donbass shellings ahead of Minsk talks — DPR people's militia

The next meeting of the Contact Group on settlement in eastern Ukraine will be held in Minsk on February 13

© Valentin Sprinchak/TASS

DONETSK, February 11. /TASS/. People's militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has registered the increasing number of shellings by Ukrainian forces, including from mortars of 120mm caliber, ahead of the meeting of the Contact Group on settlement in Donbass, spokesman for DPR people's militia Daniil Bezsonov said on Monday.

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Kiev’s reluctance to negotiate with Donbass impedes crisis resolution, says OSCE envoy

"Ahead of another round of talks in Minsk, Ukrainian forces are intensifying shellings at the republic's territory, including with the use of heavy weaponry, while the very fact that such weapons are even stationed anywhere near the contact line is a violation of the Minsk Agreements," Donetsk News Agency quoted Bezsonov as saying.

He noted that only on Monday, Ukrainian forces shelled DPR settlements five times from mortars of 120mm caliber. Ukrainian forces opened fire at the Donetsk airport, the settlement of Leninskoye in the south of DPR and the village of Golmovsky near the town of Gorlovka. "We call on OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] to take necessary and immediate measures to pacify Ukrainian forces," Yakubov noted.

The next meeting of the Contact Group on settlement in eastern Ukraine will be held in Minsk on February 13.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Eastern Ukraine Contact Group on Ukraine

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