Renewed shelling hits residential areas in eastern Ukraine (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Artillery shells have hit a local market in the north-western district of Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine. At least one person has been wounded, according to the head of the district’s administration aligned with Donbass rebels.
RT's Ilya Petrenko was on the scene at the spot which came under attack. He reports the local market was still burning after taking a direct hit, with self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic’s emergency personnel trying to extinguish it. Two residential homes were also devastated.
2nd time in four days... Another market in #Donetsk destroyed by shelling. pic.twitter.com/V1orb1DFVv
— Ilya Petrenko (@ilpetrenko_rt) June 6, 2015
After the shelling locals rushed to salvage what remained of the goods on the market, taking food and other supplies to nearby basements turned into makeshift bomb shelters.
#ДНР #Донецк - фото обстрела рынка, в данную минуту интенсивность не снизилась. pic.twitter.com/HhT19VcnD4
— Блог Донбасса (@blog_donbassa) June 6, 2015
According to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, the 82-mm mortars were fired from territory under the control of the Ukrainian military. “Five or six shells were fired, then all fell silent again,” a representative of the Center said according to RIA Novosti.
Shelling resumed after period of silence according to rebel official – Interfax.
Anti-government forces say that residential areas of the town of Gorlovka also came under mortar fire on Saturday. There have been no reports of casualties so far.
READ MORE: West frustrated over Kiev’s breaches of Minsk deals – Russian UN envoy
Saturday’s shellings come following a recent escalation in violence in eastern Ukraine, and a subsequent United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday.
At the meeting, Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin said even the Ukrainian authorities’ supporters in the West are frustrated with Kiev’s “flagrant violation and blunt ignorance of the Minsk agreements.”
He also called on international monitors from the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine to report on the details of the recent upsurge in violence, “to precisely report on the targets of the shelling and its victims – civilians or military divisions carrying out artillery attacks on residential areas.”
