Kiev strikes residential districts of Donetsk – authorities
Ukraine’s armed forces fired over a hundred shells at residential areas of the Russian city of Donetsk thought the early hours of Tuesday, according to Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) officials.
The acting head of the republic, Denis Pushilin, reported in the morning that the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) had registered over 40 waves of shelling and the launch of 148 munitions at several Donetsk districts, using 122mm rocket artillery as well as 152mm Soviet and 155mm NATO rounds.
Mayor Aleksey Kulemzin later said on Telegram that the attacks were continuing. According to the official, a number of civilians were injured and several buildings, including a school, severely damaged in the Ukrainian bombardments. He said one building had been completely destroyed as a result of a fire.
The exact number of civilians injured in the strikes and their current condition remains unknown, but according to reports, they include a driver and two employees of an waste management company whose garbage truck had been directly hit by a Ukrainian shell. Kulemzin also said another civilian vehicle was hit by the shells, injuring three more people.
Donetsk and other Donbass cities have suffered from Ukrainian artillery strikes claiming numerous civilian lives since 2014, when the region broke away from Kiev after a Western-backed coup.
Over the years, Ukraine’s military established heavily fortified positions around the city. Attacks intensified after the launch of Moscow’s military operation against Kiev in February 2022, leaving scores of civilians killed and inflicting major damage on infrastructure.
Last week, Ukrainian forces reportedly used cluster munitions during yet another round of attacks, triggering fires in three districts and damaging the Donetsk University of Economics and Trade as well as several apartment buildings. During the week, at least four people were reported killed and ten injured by Ukrainian bombardment of Donbass.
