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Donetsk mayor says NATO weapons used by Kiev can reach all city areas

Alexey Kulemzin said children, women and anyone else are free to leave the city

DONETSK, September 22. /TASS/. Donetsk Mayor Alexey Kulemzin on Thursday said all of the city’s neighborhoods are being shelled as Ukraine’s NATO-supplied heavy weaponry can reach any of them.

"We don't have the concept of a ‘shelling-free area’ these days. All nine districts of the city are reachable for heavy NATO weapons," he said on Solovyov Live television.

Kulemzin said children, women and anyone else are free to leave the city.

"Our evacuation hasn’t ended. It can still be done if residents wish to do so," the mayor said.

He said most residents are unwilling to leave their homeland.

Donetsk has recently been shelled by Ukraine every day. Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine hit an indoor market in the central district while it was filled with customers. According to the latest data, six people were killed and seven were injured. DPR head Denis Pushilin said the shelling was tentatively performed with the French howitzer Caesar.

On February 24 Russian President Vladimir 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 aims to demilitarize and de-Nazify the country. The West retaliated to the Russian decision by imposing sweeping sanctions on the country and increased shipments of weapons to Kiev, which by now are worth billions of dollars.