A woman was killed and at least five people were injured by Ukrainian shelling of the Kievsky district of Donetsk on Tuesday, acting Governor Denis Pushilin has confirmed.
Kiev launched over 30 artillery shells in several separate barrages, targeting the capital of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the official said. They caused damage to civilian infrastructure, including local power lines, prompting the suspension of tram service in the area, Mayor Aleksey Kulemzi said.
Civilian casualties from Ukrainian attacks are reported regularly in Donetsk. A major incident took place last month, when multiple rocket launch systems were used in a strike which claimed the lives of 28 people and left dozens injured.
Regional authorities reported on Monday that since hostilities with Ukraine escalated in February 2022, 4,826 civilians have been killed by Ukrainian forces in the DPR. Civilian fatalities since 2014, when post-coup authorities in Kiev deployed the Ukrainian military against the erstwhile independent republics, have reached 9,210, the update said.
Last week, Kiev lost control of Avdeevka, a key town located just ten kilometers from central Donetsk. It had been used as a staging ground for attacks on the city and was heavily fortified. The Russian Defense Ministry has expressed hope that the development will help protect residents from “terrorist attacks by the criminal Kiev regime.”