DONETSK, February 20. /TASS/. Sounds of artillery fire were heard early on Sunday in central, northern and western parts of Donetsk, the largest city of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a TASS correspondent reported.
Presumably, heavy weaponry is used to shell the city. The attack continues.
Earlier, the DPR mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination said Ukrainian troops opened mortar fire at several populated areas of the republic, including Donetsk.
Initial reports said the fire targeted Donetsk, as well as the towns of Dokuchayevsk, Oktyabr, Sosnovskoye, Aleksandrovka and Spartak.
Later, it was reported that the villages of Petrovskoye, Staromikhailovka and Kommunarovka were also shelled.
The situation along the contact line in eastern Ukraine took a turn for the worse in the morning of February 17. The DPR and LPR reported some of the most intensive shelling by Kiev forces in recent months. The shelling damaged some civilian facilities.
On Friday, the leaders of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR), Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of the republics’ inhabitants to Russia, citing the increasing threat of hostilities. All-out mobilization was announced in the republics on Saturday.