According to BBC, Ukraine said that the separatists themselves opened fire on the city while the latter claimed that one civilian died in the overnight attacks.
Advertisement
More than 6,400 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine that began in April 2014 when rebels seized large parts of the two eastern regions.
A building burns after shelling between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on July 18, 2015.
Basurin accused the government forces of using 152 mm artillery, which falls within the category of heavy weapons that both sides are supposed to have pulled back from the frontline under a February ceasefire. Although fighting diminished, deadly clashes still continue, with three more civilians reported killed Saturday.
Donetsk Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko said on Saturday that his forces were ready to withdraw along the line except in “problem areas”. “Last time the centre of Donetsk was hit was in February”.
“I have no explanation. Do you believe we can shell ourselves?”, he told Reuters by phone.
He also called on his Ukrainian counterpart to “resolve the questions concerning the constitutional reform project”, aimed at offering more autonomy to the separatist regions, which Russian Federation dismissed last week as just a parody of its obligations under the Minsk truce agreement.
The authorities of the fellow self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) announced a similar move, adding that monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are witnessing the redeployment.
Advertisement
On Friday, the head of the OSCE Ivica Dacic described a worsening humanitarian crisis in the east and urged both sides to adhere to the Minsk agreement, which he said was the only chance to achieve peace.
