Gorlovka. Archival photoDONETSK, May 9.Ukrainian troops shelled Gorlovka from heavy machine guns at 4.55, according to the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC).»After 03.00 shelling from the AFU ( armed formations of Ukraine — ed.) in the direction: 04.55 — N. Shumy — Gorlovka (settlement sh-ty 6/7): heavy machine guns were used,» the statement published in the Telegram channel of the representative office reads. Gorlovka located 50 kilometers north of Donetsk, the city is home to the Stirol chemical concern and coal mining enterprises. 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 settlements 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 special 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 Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
