According to the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the ceasefire regime (JCCC), 73 people have been killed in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and 1,254 have been injured in the last 52 days.

In a statement, the DPR mission detailed that "during the 52 days of the conflict escalation by the Ukrainian armed forces, 73 civilians were killed, one person died today, 1,254 sustained injuries of varying severity, including 74 children."

The DPR authorities documented a total of 1,756 incidents of bombing by Ukrainian soldiers, including 1,566 with heavy weaponry.

The statement added that as a result of intense shelling by Ukrainian troops, 2,057 residential buildings, 527 civil infrastructure facilities, and 259 vehicles were demolished.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and accused Ukrainian forces of using terrorist methods, such as hiding behind civilians and positioning weapons systems in residential areas.

Ukrainian neo-Nazis planning chemical depot attack

The Director of the Russian National Defense Management Center, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, revealed on Friday that preparations are underway for a provocation by Ukrainian nationalists.

According to Mizintsev, chemical depots have been mined in the city of Avdiivka and the neo-Nazis have plans to blow up the plant when approaching the formations of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

During a briefing, Mizintsev explained that "in Avdiivka, militants of nationalist formations have fully prepared an inhuman provocation, involving mass poisoning of residents of the adjacent areas with toxic chemicals."