Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ruled out the draft constitutional changes stipulating a special self-governance regime for the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions with the aim to threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
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But Ukrainian military observers said they witnessed rebel missile systems “turned towards Donetsk, shelling residential areas of Donetsk, then turning and starting to fire in the direction of Ukrainian positions”.
Ukrainian Gen.-Maj. Andrei Taran dismissed the rebel claims as a deceptive. Attacks have lessened since a peace agreement was brokered in Minsk, Belarus, five months ago, but both sides accuse each other of violations. Although fighting diminished, deadly clashes still continue, with three more civilians reported killed Saturday.
The separatist group, the self-described Donetsk People’s Republic, said through its official information agency that 19 buildings had been damaged, including a hospital.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held separate phone calls with his Ukrainian, German, and American counterparts over the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
More than 6,400 people have been killed since the war started in April 2014, according to the United Nations.
“Last time the center of Donetsk was hit was in February…I have no explanation. Do you believe we can shell ourselves?”
A Ukrainian soldier had also been killed and seven injured in the last 24 hours, mainly on Donetsk’s western outskirts, military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk told a press briefing.
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OSCE monitors were unable to say which side actually fired, though they noted that neither side had finished withdrawing heavy artillery from the front lines, something both were supposed to do under the terms of the Minsk deal.
