Civilians killed in Donetsk shelling – officials

More civilians have been killed and hurt in Donetsk after two straight days of shelling by Ukraine, officials from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Tuesday.

Two people were killed and five wounded, including a child, in the city’s northern Kievsky district, DPR officials said. They added that four people were also injured during shelling of the Kirovsky district in the western part of Donetsk.

Videos from the scene show missile parts lying on the ground.

“People were screaming, and some were hurt. I immediately went outside to administer first aid and to look whether there was any damage,” a local woman told RT.

“I saw munitions [on the ground], and a little bit farther I saw huge fires – the stores were burning … The same thing happened yesterday – more shelling.”

Officials reported that the city was struck several times on Monday, when residents were celebrating the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The fatalities included a 16-year-old, they said.

Ukraine has previously denied targeting civilians and has repeatedly accused Russia of shelling residential areas in Kiev and elsewhere. Moscow, however, insists that it only hits military targets.

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

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