The Donetsk People’s Republic was hit 42 times in the last 24 hours, according to local officials
The city of Gorlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) came under heavy Ukrainian shelling on Sunday, with at least one person killed and five more wounded, according to local authorities.
At least 20 projectiles fell in the Nikitovka district in central Gorlovka alone, with one missile directly hitting the city’s largest shopping center Galaktika. The mall was first wrecked by an explosion and then completely burnt out, according to videos posted on Telegram. A nearby residential building was also hit.
The mayor of Gorlovka, Ivan Prikhodko, said that a local woman lost her life “as a result of shelling of the center of Gorlovka by Ukrainian Nazis, a civilian woman was killed. Bright memory to the innocent.”
The Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) has reported that in the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian forces shelled the territory of DPR at least 42 times with 139 different munitions, including cluster shells of NATO caliber. According to local authorities, fragments of Grad munition were found at the site, where the woman was killed.
Located 50 kilometers north of Donetsk, Gorlovka is considered to be one of the most populated areas in the region. The Donetsk and neighboring Lugansk People’s Republics have been subjected to regular shellings since 2014, when the former Ukrainian regions rejected the Western-backed coup in Kiev and declared independence. They were incorporated into Russia last October together with Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, following referendums in which the local populations voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move.
Russia has repeatedly accused Kiev’s forces of targeting residential areas with no military targets in sight. Western-provided munitions have been used to strike the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk including cluster munitions and aerially-dispersed landmines, claiming numerous civilian lives.
