You're reading: Kremlin-backed separatists shell Debaltseve, kill 12

Twelve people, presumably civilians, were killed in Debaltseve as the forces of separatists shell the city.

The casualties number can be preliminary as the local police is unable to arrive to the attacked spots due to the continuous shelling.

According to Vyacheslav Abroskin, chief of Donetsk Oblast police, the separatists deliberatley shell residential neighborhods.

Volunteers and police evacuate the citizens of Debaltseve under shelling.

See Kyiv Post photo gallery on evacuation from Debaltseve here

On Jan. 30 Abroskin informed of three civilians being killed and seven wounded in the shelling in Debaltseve.

The deadly shelling happened a week after the separatists’ artillery assault on the eastern city of Mariupol killed 30 civilians.

At the same time Ukraine has suffered losses among military forces too. Defense Ministry reported on Jan. 31 that 15 servicemen died and 33 were wounded within the last 24 hours.

The fighting in Ukraine’s eastern region of has intensified as Russia-backed separatists launched an offensive on the towns of Debaltseve and Vuhlehirsk that are hold by Ukraine. The two towns stand close to each other bordering the territory controlled by the separatist organization Donetsk People’s Republic.

In Vuhlehirsk, the fighting goes on inside the town. According to the anti-terrorist operation headquarters, as of afternoon of Jan. 31 Ukraine’s artillery was blocking the supply of fresh forces and weapons to the separatists’ positions in the town.