The remains of shells after shelling by militants / Photo from mil.gov.ua

The Ukrainian side drew attention of the international organization's representatives that illegal armed groups had shelled the town of Dzerzhynsk in Donetsk region, using mortar shells, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported on its website.

The remains of shells after shelling by militants / Photo from mil.gov.ua

Fragments of 82mm- and 120mm-caliber mortar shells and 122mm-caliber artillery shells were collected by the Joint Center's Ukrainian observers after shelling of the private sector in Dzerzhynsk in the early hours of May 13, 2015.

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The remains of shells after shelling by militants / Photo from mil.gov.ua

More than 80 cases of explosions and numerous destructions of residential and commercial buildings have been recorded.

The remains of shells after shelling by militants / Photo from mil.gov.ua

This case, the Defense Ministry stressed, as well as other numerous other facts of shelling are evidence of continuous violations by Russian-backed militants of the Minsk peace agreement, when they have failed to withdraw heavy weapons whose caliber is over 100mm from the line of contact.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on February 12, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande held talks in Minsk to resolve the conflict in Donbas.

Following the talks, the parties approved a package of measures aimed at the implementation of the Minsk agreements of September 2014. The leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany and the Russian Federation adopted a declaration in support of these measures.

In addition to other provisions of the new agreements reached by the 'Normandy Four' leaders on February 12, the parties agreed on a ceasefire to be effective from 0001, February 15, as well as the withdrawal of all heavy weapons. The agreements also provide for the release and exchange of all prisoners of war and civil hostages.

Despite the fact that a ceasefire was supposed to come into force, the militants have continued to attack the positions of the Ukrainian armed forces throughout the territory of Donbas, Ukraine's military says.