Artillery fire kills at least 12 civilians in Donetsk

Artillery fire killed at least 12 civilians in the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Friday amid fierce fighting between pro-Russia separatists and government troops as hopes for a break in hostilities were dashed when an attempt to call a new round of peace talks failed. Five people were killed as they were waiting for humanitarian aid outside a community center and two people were killed in the same neighborhood when a mortar shell landed near a bus stop. By the time an Associated Press journalist arrived at the community center, the bodies were taken away. Nearby trees were cut down by what could have been a projectile. Five other people died Friday in sporadic artillery fire in the west of Donetsk.

Precision strikes are destroying the opponents’ firepower, manpower and machinery.

the press office for Ukraine’s operations in the east said Friday

Full-blown fighting between the Russian-backed separatists and government forces erupted anew earlier this month following a period of relative tranquility. Debaltseve, a railway hub which could prove a crucial link between the main rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, has become the main focus of hostilities. Separatists inched toward Debaltseve on Thursday when they burst through government lines into the town of Vuhlehirsk. The press office for Ukraine’s operations in the east said Friday that rebels were mounting artillery strikes on government checkpoints and bases in Vuhlehirsk. The United Nations on Friday voiced concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Debaltseve and other densely populated areas in eastern Ukraine where intense fighting is going on.

Indiscriminate shelling of civilians violates international humanitarian law and must stop.

Neal Walker, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine

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