Breaking News, February 1, 2018

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations recognized the armed conflict in the Donbass as one of the biggest bloodshed in Europe since the end of the Second World War. This is stated in a report published by OCHA on Wednesday. The authors noted that the number of victims of the confrontation in the east of Ukraine continues to grow. The main cause of death is shelling. OCHA called last year «one of the most deadly» for the residents of eastern Ukraine: 105 people were killed and 486 injured, which is 6% more than in 2016. Also, according to the UN, international donors were very reluctant to respond to the call of OCHA for humanitarian assistance to residents of the region in 2017, transferring only 35% of the required amount.

---

During the past day, the AFU violated the ceasefire 12 times, releasing 519 munitions of various types in the front-line settlements of the Republic. In the course of the shelling, IFVs, APCs, mortars, grenade launchers, large-caliber and small arms were used. The most intensive shelling by the AFU was inflicted on settlements in the Donetsk and Gorlovka directions.

---

The head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, and the acting head of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, signed a protocol on the creation of a common customs area between the DPR and the LPR. As Alexander Zakharchenko emphasized, the initiative to create a customs union will allow the parties to cooperate more closely in the sphere of economy. Moreover, according to him, having signed the documents, the republics sent a clear signal to «enemies». Leonid Pasechnik expressed his hope that the signing of a number of integration documents would positively affect the social stability in the DPR and the LPR.

---

he Syrian army resumed the operation in the east of the province of Idlib, rapidly advancing in the direction of the city of Sarakib. According to Syrian sources, government troops liberated dozens of settlements west of the strategic Abu Duhur airport in the last 48 hours. Among the most important are the villages of Atshan Sharqiyah, Baragita, Tel-Kalbah, Tel-Sultan, Wadi al-Mazrui, Dahabiya, Tel Khatra, Magarat Marza and others. Thus, the detachments of the Syrian Arab Army came very close to the large settlements of Ras Al-Ain and Tel-Tukan, which constitute the eastern perimeter of the defense of Sarakib. Sources say that the defense of the fighters «Hayat Tahrir al-Sham» is collapsing, so they are forced to leave significant terri