Five civilians die as Ukrainian forces shell town

Five civilians die as Ukrainian forces shell town

LUGANSK -- Five civilians were killed and 16 others wounded in the last 24 hours in the clashes in Lugansk, in southeastern Ukraine.

Infrastructure facilities and 22 homes have been damaged, according to the press service of the city assembly of Lugansk.

Four parts of the city have come under attack. More than 20,000 facilities in three districts were left without electricity, and more than 7,000 buildings are without water and gas.

The assembly is currently collecting information in order to make an assessment of the damage caused to the economy of the city, said the press service.

According to reports, military operations in the suburbs were renewed on Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian forces were advancing in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Itar-Tass is quoting pro-Russian forces.

The Ukrainian army this morning launched an offensive from the village Rubezhnoye, Sirotina and from the highway Lugansk. The Ukrainian army bombed the settlements of Severodonetsk and Lisichansk throughout the night.

An armed conflict is ongoing in the center of Severodonetsk, near a military commissariat, while tanks are targeting the location from the bridge Rubezhnoye. There has also been fighting near the coal mines in Melnikov.

Earlier today, the parliament in Kiev passed a presidential decree on the mobilization of reservists and men younger than 50 in order to fight pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.