DONETSK, February 23. /TASS/. The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass remains critical since the Ukrainian army continues shelling, Deputy Head of the DPR's People's Militia Eduard Basurin said on Wednesday.
"Since midnight, Ukraine’s Armed Forces opened fire at the territory of the DPR 14 times using conventional artillery, 120-and 82-mm mortars, having fired 145 missiles and mines," the military official noted. "The situation at the line of engagement remains critical," he added.
The official also noted that 10 residential communities were shelled in the republic.
"The facts of violations were immediately conveyed by the current DPR mission at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of ceasefire (JCCC) to the representatives of the Ukrainian side at the JCCC who refuse to react to our requests for silence and to swiftly undertake measures for a ceasefire on the part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," he stressed.
According to DPR’s People’s Militia, over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian army shelled the republic’s territory 65 times.
The situation at the Donbass engagement line flared up on February 17. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian armed forces over the past months. On February 18, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin announced civilian evacuations from the republics to Russia due to the mounting danger of hostilities. On February 19, the Donbass republics announced a general mobilization.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the sovereignty of the DPR and LPR. Agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders.