DONETSK, May 8. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military violated ceasefire agreements six times in the past 24 hours, shelling the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the DPR mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) said in a statement on Saturday.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces violated the indefinite ceasefire six times in the past 24 hours, firing a total of 64 munitions," the Donetsk News Agency quoted the statement as saying.
According to the mission, the 6/7 Mine and Gagarin Mine settlements near Gorlovka, the Chelyuskintsy Mine and Lozovoye settlements near Donetsk, as well as the Styla and Novolaspa settlements in southern DPR, came under fire. The Ukrainian military’s attacks involved 82 mm and 120 mm mortars, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and a rocket launcher.
On July 22, 2020, the Contact Group on resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine approved additional measures to ensure the ceasefire in Donbass, banning shelling attacks, offensive and reconnaissance activities, the use of aerial vehicles, and the deployment of heavy weapons to settlements. The agreements particularly say that the parties can’t open return fire unless there is a direct order from commanding officers. The measures took effect on July 27, 2020
Tensions in Donbass started rising in late February. Intense firefights resumed on the line of contact, resulting in casualties to both sides. Ukraine claimed that Donbass was to blame, while the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics stressed that Kiev’s failure to implement the 2020 agreement was the reason for escalating tensions.