Some news on the situation in Donbass. In the past 24 hrs, more than 80 civilians have been evacuated from their homes. Their homes came under fire from Ukrainian forces. During the night the city was heavily shelled by Grad and Uragan multiple rocket launchers. The city administration reported significant destruction and many fires. Moreover, not only buildings, but also communication lines were damaged. As a result more than 1,200 people are without gas. Artem Kol elaborates on the situation in the city.

The capital of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) is being shelled. The bombing has slowed down compared to yesterday, when both the outskirts of Donetsk and other settlements, like Makeyevka, Yasinovataya and others, were shelled all day and night. The Ministry of Defence of the DPR states that Ukrainian forces attacked the DPR positions along the 50 km frontline. It is worth noting that armoured vehicles were brought in. This fact has even been reported by foreign journalists working from the Ukrainian military's position.

At the same time Ukrainian multiple rocket launchers started shelling residential areas at night. For example, a missile from the Uragan multiple rocket launcher exploded several streets away from the DPR government headquarters in the city center. The direct hit of a one-storey building, which is a military clothing shop, destroyed it completely. The blast also destroyed residential buildings, shops and a petrol station, all within a 50 meter radius of the explosion. Most cars, were just torn apart by the blast. It is noteworthy that Ukrainian forces were shelling other areas with Grad multiple rocket launchers.

We talked to some witnesses or should we say victims of the attacks. Fortunately, nobody was wounded in the Kievsky district, which was shelled by Grad multiple rocket launchers. Let's listen to what the people are saying about it. They started shelling in the evening then it all calmed down, and we decided to take a nap. Three strikes followed immediately. A girl was sleeping here, while I was sleeping there in the bedroom. We barely had time to rush into the bathroom. Then we could only hear everything cracking. Donbass defenders claim that for the past several days Ukrainian forces have been shelling residential areas where the citizens live. Naturally, these are civilians who are suffering. Some of them are already wounded or worse dead, with the number increasing daily. Let's listen to representatives of the DPR's Ministry of Defence, who have visited another settlement which is situated to the West of Donetsk.

On January, 31 at 11 a.m., a missile launched by Ukrainian forces landed here. Judging by the damage caused, the caliber used was most likely 152 mm. A man born in 1941 was found under the rubble. He is an old man. Now, he is in the hospital. The DPR military has requested to report such shellings to OSCE representatives, but these international observers do not always visit witnesses of such attacks. Today a video has been uploaded to the Internet showing several OSCE representatives fleeing Donetsk. They were seen leaving the city with their luggage and even a trailer. Unfortunately, the one's who filmed the video did not find out where the OSCE representatives were heading, but they did look on with some humour.



These are our valiant OSCE observers in Donetsk. One car, two cars... Oh, look, there's a third one! There they are, with a trailer and their luggage. Running back home as fast as they can as Ukes keep shelling. However, they say nothing is happening. Why then are you fleeing the city dear OSCE? One faster than the other! Got it. So, this is the video circulating the Internet. The citizens of Donetsk and Lugansk are continuously discussing it.