He said separatists had focused their attacks on residential areas north-west of rebel-held Donetsk city and that one serviceman, a woman, her granddaughter and a 49-year-old man had been killed.
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Weapons with a calibre of over 100mm were supposed to have been removed from the battle field under the ceasefire agreement signed in the Belarus capital Minsk in February that aimed to end a conflict that has killed more than 6,500 people since April 2014.
A February agreement called for a cease-fire and for both sides to pull back heavy weaponry.
A building burns after shelling between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on July 18, 2015.
Ukrainian Gen.-Maj. Andrei Taran dismissed the rebel claims as a deceptive.
A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic forces gestures as he sits with others on an armoured vehicle on the roadside.
Meanwhile, the fighting continued in eastern Ukraine, with three civilians and a Ukrainian soldier killed in the previous 24 hours.
The rebels in turn accused Ukrainian forces of intensifying attacks and firing at civilian areas.
Military spokesman Serhiy Galushko said the army had intercepted rebel radio traffic that also suggested separatists planned to shell the city.
A man was killed during shelling Saturday night in Donetsk and a female doctor was injured when a shell hit the nearby N23 hospital, rebel authorities told AFP. “Do not believe the myths: no threat can arise since there is a whole host of preventive measures in place”, the head of state said.
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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.
