DONETSK (Sputnik) — Both Ukrainian troops and militias have been trading blame for artillery attacks, which come in violation of the Minsk peace agreement, a ceasefire deal that was hammered out in February. The pact called for the warring parties to remove heavy weapons of more than 100mm in caliber from the contact line.
"The fire is currently focused on northern and northwestern outskirts. It appears to come from the direction of Mayorsk [a district to the northwest of Horlivka]," the unnamed officer with the Republic’s Guard told RIA Novosti late Saturday.
The source said they suspected Ukrainian troops to be shelling the city using howitzers. He added the fire had cut electric power and water supply in parts of the city.
The conflict in southeastern Ukraine erupted in mid-April, 2014, when Kiev launched a military operation to suppress independence supporters in Donetsk and Lugansk who refused to recognize the legitimacy of a new government that came to power following a February coup.
In summer, Horlivka saw fierce fighting as Ukrainian troops sought to tighten their grip on the militia-held city of Donetsk nearby.
