DONETSK, June 29. /TASS/. Four servicemen of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) were injured in the past 24 hours, Deputy Head of the DPR People's Militia Eduard Basurin said late on Tuesday.
"Four defenders of the Donetsk People’s Republic were injured in the past 24 hours while fulfilling their combat duty during the struggle for independence," the People’s Militia press service quoted him as saying in its official Telegram channel.
According to Basurin, Ukrainian troops opened fire at eight populated areas of the republic. One civilian, an elderly woman, was injured as a result. Eight houses, two vehicles and two infrastructure facilities were damaged.
The shelling also led to disruption of power supplies to the settlement of Golmovsky, leaving 1,706 customers without electricity.
Basurin also cited the DPR mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the ceasefire as saying that over 140 projectiles were fired by the Kiev government troops towards the republic’s territory in the reported period, including rockets from Uragan and Grad multiple-launch systems, as well as 82-mm and 120-mm mortar rounds and 152-mm and 122-mm artillery shells.
"In the past day, the following enemy weapons and military equipment were destroyed in a coordinated action by the DPR and Russian troops: two BM-21 GRAD MLRS, two armored vehicles and one armored car. The enemy’s firing points in Avdeyevka and Nevelsky were destroyed," he said.
The situation on the line of contact in Donbass escalated on February 17, as the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk reported the most intense shelling from Ukraine in recent months. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his recognition of the DPR and LPR’s sovereignty. Russia recognized the republics within the borders that have been established by their constitutions (the administrative borders of Donetsk and Lugansk regions at the beginning of 2014).
On February 24, Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country. DPR and LPR started their operation to liberate their territories, which are under Kiev's control.