MOSCOW, November 6 (RAPSI) – Russian authorities have initiated a criminal case after a school was shelled in the battle-torn Ukrainian region of Donetsk, killing two children, Investigative Committee’s spokesman Vladimir Markin told the press on Thursday.

On Wednesday, an artillery shell hit a school in eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, killing two students and injuring four more people. A resident of a nearby house has lost his legs and was hospitalized in critical condition.

An OSCE monitoring mission confirmed the shelling and is conducting a probe into the incident.

Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin added that the case will be merged with the main case concerning use of prohibited prohibited methods and means of warfare, and genocide in self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk republics.

Ukrainian government launched a military operation in mid-April to suppress the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine, which did not recognize its legitimacy.

Following months of bloodshed, the conflicting sides signed a ceasefire agreement on September 5 in Minsk. A memorandum specifying the implementation of the ceasefire was adopted at another Contact Group meeting on September 19.