Heavy shelling erupts near Ukraine’s Donetsk

Heavy gunfire has erupted near Ukraine’s eastern volatile city of Donetsk, where Ukrainian government troops are fighting pro-Russia forces.

News ID: 60892

Date: 27 October 2014 - 16:00

The gunfire took place on Monday, a day after Ukraine held parliamentary elections.

According to reports, several dozen Grad rockets landed in the Putilovsky neighborhood near the Donetsk Airport.

In addition, a government-held base in the nearby city of Avdiivka was also hit by heavy rockets.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the shelling, however.

The shelling comes a day after Ukraine’s parliamentary vote, in which the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk did not participate.

Exit polls have indicated a victory for the bloc comprising of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s party. According to Poroshenko, over 75 percent of voters have supported Ukraine’s path of better relations with Europe.

Deputy Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk Andrei Purgin has rejected the election results, calling the vote a “farce.”

The leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk are scheduling their own elections to be held in early November.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since the government in Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush the protests.

According to the latest figures by the United Nations, over 3,700 people have been killed and at least 9,000 others injured in the conflict .

Source: PressTV