A soldier displays fragments of ammunition. File photoDONETSK, May 9.Ukrainian troops shelled the Lugansk and Petrovsky districts of Donetsk, including with rockets from the BM-21 Grad, reports the representative office of the Donetsk People's Republic in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC). — Ed.) in the direction: 15.30 (coincides with Moscow time) — the settlement of Georgievka — the settlement of Luhanske: 15 missiles were fired from the BM-21 «Grad»; 15.30 (coincides with Moscow time) — the settlement of Novomikhailovka — the city of Donetsk (Petrovsky district) : 10 shells of 122 mm caliber were fired,» the representative office said in a message on the Telegram channel.Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled Gorlovka, Lozovoe and Yasinovataya with Grad missiles Petrovsky district of Donetsk is located on the western outskirts of the capital of the DPR, this is the most distant part of the city from the center. Since 2014, when the DPR declared independence from Kyiv, the area, starting from the line of contact outside the city of Marinka, has been regularly shelled by Ukrainian troops. 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 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.
