The Deputy Minister and Defence Spokesman of the Donetsk People’s Republic, (DPR), Eduard Basurin, calls on Russia to use additional Iskanders and aircraft to destroy the artillery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The request comes in the wake of the bombing suffered by the city of Donetsk on 13 June where five people were killed and 33 wounded as a result of shelling by Ukrainian militants, DPR authorities said. Among the places hit were the Shakhtyorskaya Square market area and the maternity ward of the local hospital.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov commented on Pushilin’s call for additional allied forces due to the increased shelling of Donetsk by Ukrainian troops. And he said that this is the prerogative of the defence ministry, because it is connected to the continuation of the special operation (i.e. the invasion). “But I want to remember what our president said. The main task of the special operation is to ensure the safety and protection of people in Luhansk and Donetsk. Therefore, yes, there is, we see, completely barbaric shelling of civilian targets. In recent days there has been an intensification of the shelling. Further demand on our military,’ Peskov said.
According to analysts, the sharp intensification of the shelling of Donetsk by the Ukrainian armed forces could be caused by the intention to somehow drag part of the Russian artillery into the area from the main offensive directions for counter-battery combat.
Other more heated reactions were expressed by Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Polyansky: ‘On the Donetsk bombing and the entry into the maternity hospital: where is the Western media reaction? All those BBC, Reuters, AFP shouting about the damage to the maternity hospital in Mariupol, used by Ukrainian nationalists as a firing post? Ukraine deliberately fires on civilians. Will we hear words of condemnation?”
Confirming that the attack was carried out by Ukrainians would be the types of ammunition found at the site: such as M777 155mm howitzers. These are the weapons of NATO countries, delivered to Ukraine, Russia simply does not have such a calibre.
On 14 June, also the Ukrainians bombed the town of Klintsy, a southern area in the Bryansk region. The city is located 50 kilometres from the border with Ukraine, where a Russian military base is allegedly located. After the attack, eyewitnesses report that there is no water in Klintsy after the explosion. In some areas of the city, there is no electricity or water after the explosions. In the Zaimishche district, a residential building was damaged. This is the second attack Klintsy has suffered in the last three days.
Anna Lotti
