Ukrainian Forces Shell Outskirts of Donetsk, DPR Says

Earlier on Thursday, the militia of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine stated that the situation in the region has deteriorated significantly over the past day, as Kiev is trying to escalate the conflict.

The mission of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) to the Joint Centre of Control and Coordination (JCCC) has said that Ukrainian forces shelled the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Thursday.

"At 9:50 [06:50 GMT], shelling was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine in the direction of the village of Mandrykino [outskirts of Donetsk]. Five 82-mm calibre mines were fired", a DPR spokesperson told reporters.

The remarks followed the militia of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine stating that the situation in the region has worsened considerably in the past 24 hours as Kiev is trying to escalate the conflict.

The LPR called on international observers to record the attack and take measures to prevent aggression by Ukraine. "Ukraine's armed units grossly violated the ceasefire regime, using weapons that, in accordance with the Minsk [peace] agreements, should be withdrawn", an officer from the LPR mission to the JCCC said.

The DPR's militia, in turn, said on Thursday that its units had retaliated against the Ukrainian security forces, who shelled the territory of the self-proclaimed republic.

"In order to protect the civilian population, our defenders were forced to return fire to suppress the enemy's firepower. Information on civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure is being clarified", the militia's spokesman said.

The DPR militia also claimed that the Ukrainian Army is planning an amphibious assault operation in the Donetsk region in the hope of capturing the Sea of Azov coastline.

"The command of the Vostok [East] Tactical Operations Group […] is preparing an amphibious assault landing to seize the Sea of Azov coast in the Donetsk People's Republic and use it as a springboard for an offensive on our rear positions", a militia spokesperson told reporters.

They argued that the assault will target the villages of Sartana and Kominternovo east of the key port city of Mariupol, and that the Ukrainian forces would use American landing ships in the operation.

DPR intelligence has, meanwhile, reported about preparations for the evacuation of the Ukrainian president's office and the country's parliament to the western city of Lvov in connection with the hostilities.

Donbass Conflict

The conflict in Ukraine began in 2014, when the Ukrainian Army launched an offensive against the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, referred to together as Donbass, after they proclaimed independence from Kiev. Their decision came in response to what they considered a coup in Kiev that toppled the old government in February of that year.

In February 2015, the leaders of the so-called Normandy Four, which besides Ukraine includes France, Germany, and Russia, held talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk that resulted in adopting peace agreements aimed at halting the war in Donbass and a long-term political settlement of the conflict. During a Normandy Format summit in Paris in late 2019, all sides agreed that the Minsk agreements remain the basis for the resolution of the crisis.

In one of the latest developments, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the Minsk agreements remain the only possible solution to the Ukraine conflict, but Kiev does not want to fulfill them. According to Putin, Ukraine has been dragging out negotiations to resolve the conflict, and against this backdrop, NATO has been deploying military equipment closer to the border with Russia.