Your trusted source

A total of 410 mines launched from Ukrainian positions have exploded in the village of Shirokino in the Donetsk Region over the past 24 hours, Russia’s representative in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the ceasefire regime in Donbass Col. Gen. Alexander Lentsov told the Donetsk News Agency, TASS reported.

"Today we went to Shirokino jointly with representatives of the OSCE and the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic," Col. Gen. Lentsov said.

"We registered that 410 mines that came from Ukrainian positions exploded in Shirokino over 24 hours. Yesterday, since the departure of the OSCE, massive machinegun and then mortar fire attacks started, ending with artillery. The key reason is great tensions between the sides," he said.

According to Lentsov, units of Ukrainian volunteer battalion Azov remain in the vicinity of Shirokino, and they destabilize the situation.

"The key fire attacks and clashes come from the southern direction," the general stressed. "On the western direction, where there are units of Ukraine’s armed forces, there are virtually no fire attacks."