DONETSK, January 16. /TASS/. A commission launched an investigation on Friday into the shelling of a civilian bus in eastern Ukraine, the parliamentary speaker of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has said.
“Our investigator is already there and he is joining the effort. The Russian side and the OSCE representatives are also already there,” Andrey Purgin was quoted by the official Donetsk news agency as saying.
The status of the conclusion to be made following the investigation is yet unclear, Purgin added.
The commission has been set up at the initiative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Alexander Hug, a deputy chief of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said the commission will include the representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the DPR and the coordination and control center in an effort to carry out a joint and independent investigation. It will be held simultaneously with the Ukrainian authorities’ probe.
The tragedy in the city of Volnovakha, some 60 kilometers to the south-west of Donetsk, occurred on January 13, when a bus was hit by a shell, killing 12 civilians and wounding at least 16 others.
Kiev insists that the bus was shelled by Donetsk militia from multiple launch rocket systems. The self-proclaimed republic’s leadership denied its role in the attack, saying the tragedy is the result of Kiev’s provocation.