LUGANSK, June 18. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army has shelled the territory of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) 12 times over the past twenty-four hours, the LPR defense authorities said on Sunday.

"The shelling attacks targeted the districts of Pervomaisk, Slavyanoserbsk, the township of Kalinovo, the villages of Molodyozhnoye, Rayevka, Sokolniki, Vesyolenkoye and Oboznoye," the news agency Luganskinformcenter quoted a spokesman for the LPR defense authorities as saying.

The Ukrainian military conducted fire from 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and small arms, the spokesman said.

Since the autumn of 2014, the Contact Group seeking to find a solution to the conflict in southeast Ukraine’s region of Donbass has negotiated more than ten ceasefires but none lasted for long, with the parties accusing each other of breaking them down.

Ahead of the International Day for Protection of Children, the parties to the conflict had agreed to another ceasefire that came into force at midnight on June 1. Nevertheless, the shellings continue.