Mariupol authorities report shelling of Ukrainian positions near town

The shelling began at around 1 p.m., the authorities said.

The casualty toll is being verified, they said.

For his part, a spokesperson for Hennadiy Moskal, the head of the Luhansk regional state administration, said the militants were shelling the village of Stanytsa Luhanska.

The firing of mortar launchers, artillery and large-caliber machineguns began on Wednesday morning, Moskal said.

One shell exploded 300 meters from the district state administration building, demolishing a garage and damaging several houses and adjacent structures as a result, the spokesperson said. The district state administration and other government agencies closed temporarily, the staff were let go home.

“Moskal sent a telegram to the Ukrainian chief of the general staff, V. Muzhenko, asking him to take urgent measures to protect Stanytsa Luhanska and the district,” the spokesperson said.