Shelling Continues in Debaltseve, Nine Injured

Sunday's shelling in Debaltseve led to nine injuries as the conflict between the Ukrainian government and Donbas continued to flare up while peace talks stalled.

MOSCOW, February 1 (Sputnik) — Nine civilians have been injured as a result of shelling in Debaltseve, in the Donbas region, the Ukrainian Interior Minister Vyacheslav Abroskin announced on Faceeook.

"Nine people are injured, the wounded have been brought to the Artemovsk hospital. None died," Abroskin posted on his Facebook.

The Ukrainian government earlier claimed that seven civilians were killed and six were injured from shelling in the region. Donbas independence supporters announced that they had two dead and seven injured on their side.

Debaltseve is a town in eastern Donetsk region which holds a considerable concentration of Ukrainian military personnel, with some estimates ranging from eight to 10 thousand troops. The city is considered to be one of the region's hot spots in theconfrontation between Ukrainian security forces and Donbas independence supporters.

In mid-April, Kiev launched a military operation in the country's southeast, predominantly Russian-speaking region, after its residents refused to recognize the February coup's results. According to the UN, over 4,800 civilians were killed in the ensuing conflict.

A ceasefire agreement was reached during talks in Minsk on September 5, 2014 and a "silence regime" was proclaimed in the region on December 9 under OSCE mediation. Since January 9, the intensity of artillery shelling in the region has rebounded.