DONETSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2023) Ukrainian troops have shelled the village of Holmivskyi in the Horlivka municipality, located in the Donetsk region, using 155 mm artillery, 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.
"Shelling was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine in the following direction: 06:30 (03:30 GMT on Monday) city of Dzerzhynsk - Holmivskyi village: six shells of 155 mm caliber were fired," the DPR mission said in a statement on Telegram.
Another shelling was reported at 01:00 GMT on Monday. The DPR representative office said that Ukrainian troops launched six rockets at the city of Makiivka.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, 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, 2022, 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.
The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier this month that Ukrainian troops conducted around 370 artillery strikes against Russian military positions in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, during the 36-hour ceasefire, declared by Russia along the line of contact between the warring sides in Ukraine from January 6-7, to allow Orthodox Christians in the areas of hostilities to attend church on Orthodox Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
