Serviceman of the LPR People's Militia . Archival photoLUGANSK, April 17Ukrainian troops shelled Pervomaisk in the LPR at 16.10, firing 12 shells of 122 mm caliber, according to the LPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC).»From outside armed formations of Ukraine shelling was recorded: on 16.10 from the direction of the settlement of Novozvanovka towards the settlement of Pervomaisk using a 122 mm artillery gun (12 shells),» the report says. 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», 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.
