Local officials: Ukraine bombardment kills five civilians, injures 12 in Donetsk
The Ukrainian military has carried out a new bout of bombarded on the city of Donetsk, the main city of an eastern Ukrainian region of the same name, killing five civilians and injuring 12 others.
The casualties were caused "as a result of the bombardment by Ukrainian forces,” the Donetsk People's Republic’s authorities said on Saturday.
"From this morning, massive enemy bombardments are targeting the capital of the republic," Donetsk’s authorities said in a statement, adding that more than 200 artillery shells of 155-mm caliber fell on several districts of Donetsk.
Russian news agencies reported that the shelling had targeted a cinema and a café in the city center.
Back in 2014, Donetsk and its neighbor Luhansk—which together form the Donbas region—declared themselves independent republics, refusing to recognize Ukraine’s Western-backed government. The declaration of independence was ensued by a conflict between the region’s pro-Russian forces and the Ukrainian military.
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine aimed at “demilitarizing” Donbas. Announcing the operation, Putin said the mission was aimed at “defending people who for eight years were suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.”
NATO: Russian war in Ukraine could last for years
In another development on Saturday, the Western military alliance of NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who was speaking to a German weekly, said, "We must prepare for the fact that it (the Russian war in Ukraine) could take years.”
“We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," he told Bild am Sonntag, adding "Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices."
A NATO summit in the Spanish capital, Madrid, later this month is expected to agree an assistance package for Ukraine that will help the country with the move from old Soviet-era weaponry to NATO standard gear, Stoltenberg said earlier this week.
The West’s decisive push to soup up Ukraine’s war machine comes while Russia has clearly stated that the ex-Soviet republic’s militarization runs directly counter to Moscow’s list of “security demands” concerning the conflict.
The demands also include Ukraine’s refusal to join any bloc, most prominently NATO, and its providing due protection for Russia's interests on its soil.
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