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Ukrainian Artillery Strikes Hit Northern Donetsk

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An area near the Donetsk airport came under artillery fire early Sunday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene.

DONETSK, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - An area near the Donetsk airport came under artillery fire early Sunday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene.

Projectiles exploded on the Kuybysheva and Engels streets, causing destruction. No information on the number of victims has yet been released.

The Donetsk city council informed earlier that four civilians had lost their lives in the Donetsk region on Saturday despite the introduction of a so-called “silence regime".

The media center of the Kiev-led “anti-terrorist” operation (ATO) informed in a statement on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had been fired at 36 times in a day, claiming that most of the shelling was aimed at a network of checkpoints near the cities of Debaltseve, Avdiivka and Shchastya.

Donetsk militia has repeatedly stated that it only opens fire when it is forced to respond to strikes from the Ukrainian troops.

Local residents have reported that shootouts regularly take place at the Donetsk airport, from where Ukrainian troops are firing at residential areas, forcing the militia to fire back.

On Saturday, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Alexander Zakharchenko announced that a "silence regime" in the region would go into effect immediately. He added that the pullout of artillery and military hardware is to begin after the "silence regime" holds for five days.

An armed conflict in Ukraine's southeast began in April when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the region. Almost 3,700 people have been killed and over 8,800 have been wounded since the start of the operation, according to the latest UN estimates.

On September 5, the two conflicting sides agreed on a ceasefire during a meeting in Minsk of the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. Both sides have subsequently accused each other of violating the agreement.

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