DONETSK (Sputnik) – The attack was carried out on Friday with DPR positions having been hit by 55 bombs, the Donetsk News Agency said citing a military source.
According to DPR deputy defense minister Eduard Basurin, Ukrainian forces have been trying to gain control of the key checkpoint for six days, forcing DPR to return fire in order to counter the attacks. Over 30 DPR fighters have been killed as a result and over 70 have been injured.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine's southeast (Donbass) in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.
In February 2015, a peace agreement was signed between the two sides in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, a weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, an all-for-all prisoner exchange and constitutional reforms, which would give a special status to DPR and LPR.
According to a UN report released earlier this month, the Minsk ceasefire has been violated multiple times in the period between November 2015 – February 2016, particularly in certain areas along the contact line, as well as in the cities of Donetsk and Horlivka.
Over 9,000 people have died in the two years since the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, according to the United Nations.
