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Kiev Forces Continue Shelling Despite Ceasefire: Donetsk Militia

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Ukrainian special forces continued shelling towns and militia positions in the Donetsk region late Friday despite the ceasefire established hours before, the militia forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said Saturday.

Updated on 11:55 a.m. Moscow Time

DONETSK, September 6 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian special forces continued shelling towns and militia positions in the Donetsk region late Friday despite the ceasefire established hours before, the militia forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said Saturday.

"The people's militia's subdivisions in Horlivka and Makiivka fell under mortar shelling in the Donetsk direction at 20 hours 15 minutes [17:15 GMT]," said in the DPR headquarters.

Some 1.5 hours later, the Ukrainian forces attacked the city of Yasynuvata, and at 10:30 p.m. (19:30 GMT), the positions of the militia forces' at the Donetsk airport, according to militia.

"Along the whole contact line with the enemy, [militia forces] adhered to the commander's order not to fire back," the DPR representatives said.

On the eve of the second meeting of a trilateral contact group on Ukraine in Minsk, Kiev authorities and rebel forces agreed on a truce that started at 6:00 p.m. Kiev time (15:00 GMT) on Friday.

The representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) met Friday to discuss way of resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

The group held the first round of peace talks in the Belarusian capital on August 26.

Since mid-April the Ukrainian government has been conducting a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, who refused to acknowledge the new government that came to power after a coup in February. The fighting intensified after Donetsk and Luhansk regions proclaimed independence in May.

According to UN estimates, fighting has killed over 2,500 people and injured over 6,000.

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