DONETSK. Feb 5 (Interfax) - Ukrainian government forces have breached the ceasefire 37 times in the past 24 hours, killing seven civilians in Donetsk, senior official of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Defense Ministry Eduard Basurin told reporters on Thursday morning.
"Over the past 24 hours, 44 people have been injured in the republic, including 33 in Donetsk. Seven people have been killed. Shells hit two hospitals in Donetsk, a school, a kindergarten and a church. The adversary has begun using Smerch [multiple-launch rocket] systems. Such systems were not used previously," he said.
Civilians are still being evacuated from the town of Vuhlehirsk, he said.
"Last night, 17 soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were killed or injured, as well as one armored personnel carrier and one mortar detachment was destroyed. Today we will continue to examine the town of Vuhlehirsk in order to check whether there are any people left unable to reach the place of evacuation," Basurin said.