Shards of shells found after the shelling of the territory of Donbass by Ukrainian security forces. Archival photoDONETSK, May 22.Ukrainian troops shelled the city of Volnovakha in the DPR, firing three shells with a caliber of 152 mm, the representative office of the republic in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC) reported. sides of the armed formations of Ukraine in the direction: 12.55 (coincides with Moscow time) — the settlement of Vuhledar — the settlement of Volnovakha: three shells with a caliber of 152 millimeters were fired,» the representative office said in a message published on its Telegram channel. The Volnovakha district center is of strategic importance. It is located on the highway linking Donetsk with Mariupol, the second largest city in the DPR, which the republic's forces are trying to take control of. Vladimir Zhoga, the commander of the Sparta battalion, one of the most famous units of the DPR, died on March 5 in Volnovakha while ensuring the exit of civilians. 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 genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces on March 25 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.
