At least 1 civilian killed, 4 injured in Ukrainian army shelling of Donbass – reports
At least one civilian has been killed and four injured after the Ukrainian army shelled the eastern town of Gorlovka, senior rebel forces commander Eduard Basurin told RT.
“As far I know, there are five victims, one killed and four wounded,” Basurin said. “The shells were coming from the Nikitovsky area, which is on the north-western outskirts of Gorlovka. The shelling could have been carried out either from Dzerjinsk or from Artemovsk.”
Ukrainian artillery shelled the town on Sunday evening, the mayor of Gorlovka, Andrey Darkovsky, told RIA earlier, confirming at least 5 victims – four men and one woman. A RIA source said the shelling continued for some 40 minutes, with residential areas of Golma and Zaitsevo coming under fire.
The Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC) representative meanwhile told RIA that Gorlovka suburbs were shelled by Ukrainian tanks, according to preliminary data.
“The shelling came from the Kurdyumovka municipality . According to our preliminary data it was tanks,” the source told RIA, adding that “one of the shells hit the house, passed through two walls and didn’t explode.”
READ MORE: 3 civilians, including 11yo killed by Ukrainian army shell in Donbass – reports
The latest shelling follows last week’s deadly attack on Gorlovka. On May 27 the residential area of the town was hit by a shell killing three people – an 11-year-old girl, her father and another civilian. Basurin blamed the Ukrainian army for both incidents.
READ MORE: 122mm artillery banned under Minsk peace deal fired in E.Ukraine – OSCE
Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) told RT on Thursday that shrapnel used in the May 27 shelling of Gorlovka persistent with 122mmartillery banned under the Minsk II Accords.
“Our monitors were able to go there yesterday to report on the shelling that happened on Tuesday,” Michael Bociurkiw, spokesperson for the OSCE SMM said. “The shrapnel was consistent with what’s called 122mm artillery. So this is clearly weaponry banned under the Minsk package.”
He was also able to confirm the deaths of civilians to RT.
The Minsk peace plan, brokered in the Belarusian capital on February 12 and agreed upon by both sides of the conflict, included the withdrawal of heavy weaponry over 100-millimeter caliber from the frontline and the establishment of a security zone separating them.
However, the OSCE spokesman said that the withdrawal of heavy weapons “has not been a completed exercise by any means.” In the latest report dated Thursday the monitors said they had “observed an increased number of ceasefire violations in areas around Donetsk airport, as compared to previous days.”
