A mine-explosive device was detonated on the Donetsk-Gorlovka highway. Three civilians were killed, said Eduard Basurin, a police spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). He claims that a “Ukrainian sabotage group” was involved in the incident. The Investigative Committee of Russia (TFR) launched an investigation into the explosion.
The incident took place this morning, February 22, the Donetsk News Agency (DAN) reports. As a result of the explosion, civilians driving along the highway were killed, Mr. Basurin said. A DAN source claims that the target was another car, in which was one of the high-ranking commanders of the DPR people’s militia.
Chairman of the TFR Alexander Bastrykin instructed the Main Investigation Department of the TFR to investigate the circumstances of the explosion “and to identify all persons involved in it,” according to a press release from the Russian department.
The situation in Donbass escalated in the middle of last week, since then the parties to the conflict have been accusing each other of shelling every day. Yesterday, February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as sovereign states. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called this decision a violation of the sovereignty of his country.
About the decision of the Russian authorities – in the publication “Kommersant” “Donbass has its own pride.”