Russian occupation forces continue provocative shelling of Donetsk residential areas in order to stage the scene that would suit the purposes of Russian propagandistic media who are trying to put the blame for shelling civilians in Donbas on Ukrainian Army.

Here is one example. On January 31, 2017 Russian troops shelled apartment buildings at the address 3A and 10 Lystoprokatnykiv Street. Judging by the hits and associated destruction they were caused by 122-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells which could belong to D-30 howitzer or 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer. The photos of the damaged buildings were taken from here.

First, we have to make sure that these houses are really located on Lystoprokatnykiv Street. Using panoramio we can easily find another photo of the house at Lystoprokatnykiv 10 dated 2011, before the renovation of the building.

There is no need to be an expert to figure out where the fire was coming from. You can open any available map application, identify hit spots and mark them on the map (click the image to enlarge). Red arrows indicate the direction of shells arrival.

Now, if we mark a demarcation line between Ukrainian and Russian forces (liveuamap) and draw 15.4 km-long line (the maximum firing range of D-30 howitzer) in the direction of the shooting the resulting image will show that the firing position is located on territory that is currently under control of the Russian troops.

Russian invaders continue using villainous tactics of hybrid warfare. They shell civilians and dense neighborhoods only to create a news hook and put the blame for barbaric fire on Ukrainian forces, escalating the conflict to a new level.

Naive adepts of Russian propaganda who, against all facts and logic, still believe in shiny “Russian World” may face the uncomfortable reality in which their life is worth no more than a penny and can easily be sacrificed for the sake of one fake news frame on Russian TV. This is pure pragmatism with no compassion and no emotions towards a person. Shattered human lives turn into a tool of political pressure in Russian hands leaving no mark except for a brief phrase: “Another one is dead”.

By Kuzma Tutov and Mykhaylo Kuznetsov .

Creative Commons – Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Information was specially prepared for InformNapalm.org, an active link to the authors and our project is obligatory for any reprint or further use of the material.

We call on our readers to share our publications on social networks. Grounded investigations need to have more impact on public opinion. In the world swamped with fake news the truth should prevail.