Stela at the entrance to Gorlovka. Archival photoDONETSK, April 17 At 11:00 a.m., Ukrainian troops shelled the village of Gorlovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, firing eight shells with a caliber of 122 mm, the DPR representative office at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC) reports. «Fire was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine in the direction: 11.00 — the settlement of Dyleevka — the settlement of Gorlovka (the checkpoint area): eight shells of 122 mm caliber were fired,» the representative office's Telegram channel said in a message. Gorlovka is located 50 kilometers to the north Donetsk, the chemical concern Stirol and coal mining enterprises are located in the city. Gorlovka is one of the largest settlements in the DPR, and has been under the control of the republic since 2014. Before the start of the conflict in Donbass, the population of Gorlovka numbered more than 250,000 people. The settlement of Zaitsevo and the settlements of the mines named after Gagarin and 6/7, located on the outskirts, are subjected to the most frequent shelling here. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.» According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, and as of March 25, they have completed the main tasks of the first stage — they have significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was the liberation of Donbass. What distinguishes the Ukrainian security forces
