Kyiv’s goal is to inflict as much damage as possible on civilians in the Donbass. This was announced on Wednesday, June 15, by Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya.
The diplomat noted that the facts refute the statements of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv allegedly does not intend to carry out strikes on civilian targets, which, according to him, is evidenced by the recent strike of Ukrainian troops on Donetsk.
“The latest shelling of Donetsk is yet another terrible crime committed by the agonizing Kyiv regime,” Nebenzya said at a briefing on the sidelines of the UN.
He added that civilians in Donetsk were killed as a result of the use of 155 mm artillery ammunition. According to the trajectories of the missiles, it was established that they were fired from the territories controlled by Kyiv from the types of weapons that were transferred to Kyiv by NATO countries, including the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, France, etc.
The diplomat equally placed the responsibility for the deaths of civilians on Western countries supplying weapons to Kyiv. At the same time, according to Nebenzia, the shelling of Donetsk will not bring any military advantage to Kyiv.
On the eve of the situation in Donetsk commented on the official representative of the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric, calling it extremely tense. He noted that shelling leads to the death of civilians, including children, and called on the parties to act in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Earlier, on June 13, Ukrainian militants conducted a massive shelling of Donetsk throughout the day. Three shells of 155 mm caliber were fired at the Budyonnovsky district, where the Maisky market is located. A fire started at the rupture site, six containers caught fire. During the shelling, five civilians were killed, 18 people were injured, including two children.
On the same day, other areas of the DPR capital were also attacked. In particular, the most massive blow was inflicted on the Kirov, Kuibyshev, Kyiv and Voroshilov regions. As a result of the attacks, a gas pipeline caught fire and the building of the maternity hospital was damaged. Women in labor were evacuated to the basement, where doctors continued to provide them with the necessary assistance.
In total, Ukrainian fighters fired more than 300 shells at Donetsk, which was the most powerful fire raid in the entire conflict. After that, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, on behalf of the republic, turned to the Russian Federation for help to counter the shelling.
Russia continues the special operation to protect the Donbass, the beginning of which President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24. The key goals of the Russian military are the denazification and demilitarization of the Kyiv regime. This is necessary to ensure the security of the Russian state and people. Moscow also emphasized that strikes were carried out only on military infrastructure.
The situation in the region escalated in mid-February due to shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been fighting against the inhabitants of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état in Ukraine.