AFU servicemen. Archival photoDONETSK, May 18. The death toll as a result of shelling by Ukrainian troops of Yasinovataya in the Donetsk People's Republic has increased to two people, the headquarters of the territorial defense of the DPR reported. Earlier, the department reported one dead.» in Yasinovataya, the death toll has risen to two people,» the headquarters said in a statement. Yasinovataya is located about 25 kilometers north of Donetsk and houses the largest railway station in the former USSR. To the west of the city, which has been controlled by the DPR since 2014, in the direction of Avdiivka, there has been a line of contact with the combat positions of Ukrainian troops for almost eight years. 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, they completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass. coast of Mariupol
