DONETSK, January 16. /TASS/. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko, said on Friday Kiev troops have used chemical munitions during the attacks on the Donetsk airport.

“After the shells burst, a pungent cloud of gas spread across the old terminal. They are firing banned munitions in breach of the Geneva convention,” Zakharchenko said after visiting the Donetsk airport with a group of journalists.

“There is a pungent smell after a shell burst and sulfur can be smelled, and it is impossible to breathe,” he was quoted by the official Donetsk news agency as saying.

A correspondent working for the agency, who was among the group of media representatives, said he has felt the impact of chemical substances, which made his eyes tear and he had trouble breathing.

A militia member also needed medical assistance.

Earlier on Friday, Kiev troops claimed that they still control the Donetsk airport, in conflict-hit eastern Ukraine, despite earlier reports of Ukraine’s military withdrawal.