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Ukrainian military opened fire on Donetsk People’s Republic 55 times over past 24 hours

Tensions escalated along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine on the morning of February 17

DONETSK, February 22. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military opened fire 55 times in the direction of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past 24 hours, Deputy Head of the People’s Militia in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Basurin said on Tuesday.

"The enemy opened fire 55 times over the past day targeting the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic," Basurin said. "In 41 cases, it was done with the use of 122-mm artillery, 120-and 82-mm mine throwers, which fired a total of 461 shells and mines."

Basurin added that the Ukrainian military also used various types of grenade launchers and firearms. "Districts of over 30 residential areas came under the fire," he noted.

Tensions escalated along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine on the morning of February 17. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) reported the heaviest shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in months. On February 18, the heads of the LPR and DPR, Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of the republics’ residents to Russia. General mobilization was ordered in the Donbass republics on February 19.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees at the ceremony in the Kremlin on recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Putin met with DPR and LPR (the Lugansk People’s Republic) leaders, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, and signed with them the treaties on friendship, cooperation, and mutual aid between Russia and both republics.

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