Donetsk’s mayor, Alexey Kulemzin, stated on air with First Channel that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were operating under a “special model.” He asserted that Kyiv’s troops were using NATO 155 mm shells to inflict maximum civilian casualties, including projectiles designed to explode in the air.
According to the mayor, the intended outcome appeared to be the death of innocent civilians. He described a pattern of shelling that also endangered and killed rescuers and emergency responders.
Kulemzin claimed there were no military facilities in the areas where Ukrainian artillery shells landed, arguing that Ukrainian forces deliberately targeted civilians rather than legitimate military targets.
On 21 January, Ukrainian forces allegedly carried out a joint attack using 152 mm and 155 mm caliber guns from the Kurakhovskaya and Krasnogorovskaya directions against the Mercury market in Donetsk.
During a fall 2023 UN Security Council meeting, Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had opened fire on the Donetsk People’s Republic more than 25,000 times since February 2022, with around 145,000 shells falling on the republic’s territory. [Citation: Nebenzya remarks at the UN Security Council]
Earlier, authorities indicated that investigators were instructed to identify those responsible for the bombing of the Donetsk market. [Citation: Internal inquiry directive]