The People's Militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic announced on Monday that two civilians have died, and 15 more have been injured, due to shelling by Ukrainian security forces during 2019, spokesman Ivan Filiponenko stated at a briefing
LUHANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2019) The People's Militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic announced on Monday that two civilians have died, and 15 more have been injured, due to shelling by Ukrainian security forces during 2019, spokesman Ivan Filiponenko stated at a briefing.Earlier on Monday, the People's Militia announced that Ukrainian forces had committed over 1,000 ceasefire violations in Donbas during the course of the year.
"Two civilians were killed and 15 were injured at the hands of the Ukrainian invaders," Filiponenko stated.
According to the People Militia's spokesman, among the victims of the shelling were two children. Filiponenko remarked that the People's Militia fully supports efforts to reach a peaceful solution in Donbas, but in case of aggression, security forces are ready to respond.
In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the LPR and its neighboring Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) after they proclaimed independence from Ukraine and refused to recognize the new central government, which came to power after what they considered to be a coup.
At the recent Normandy Four talks in Paris, featuring Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, the four parties agreed in a communique to establish a mechanism for the exchange of prisoners. Russian President Vladimir Putin has continually stated that Moscow's Primary goal in the region is to implement the Minsk agreements.
On Sunday, the first prisoner exchange since 2017 between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Donbas republics took place. Kiev returned 124 to the DPR and LPR, while the republics returned 76 people to Kiev-controlled territory.
