Ukrainian Forces Shell City of Donetsk Using 155mm Artillery - DPR

DONETSK (Sputnik) - Ukrainian troops have shelled the city of Donetsk, firing a total of five 155mm artillery shells, the Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes (JCCC) said.

According to DPR, Ukrainian troops shelled the Budyonnivskyi District of Donetsk early on Saturday morning, using BM-21 "Grad" rockets, which resulted in the injury of three civilians.

"Shelling was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine in the following direction: 23:50 [20:50 GMT on Saturday] Orlivka village - city of Donetsk (Kyivskyi district): five shells of 155mm caliber were fired," the DPR mission said in a statement on Telegram.

In the early hours of Sunday, the DPR mission to the JCCC said that the Petrovskyi District of Donetsk was also shelled by Ukrainian troops using four 155mm artillery shells.

On Thursday, the DPR representative office at the JCCC said that Ukrainian troops had fired 40 BM-21 "Grad" rockets at the Voroshylovskyi and Kyivskyi districts of central Donetsk. According to the city mayor, Alexey Kulemzin, the shelling was the most massive strike since 2014.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia’s operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.

On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.