During shelling of Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region by Russian occupation forces at the end of January and start of February more than 300 private houses were damaged and the city was without heat and water for almost two weeks, First Verkhovna Rada Deputy Speaker and representative to the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Iryna Gerashchenko has said.

"It is minus 12 C today. Avdiyivka is slowly emerging from the horror of it all and repair work is underway," Gerashchenko wrote on her Facebook page on Friday. She added that the city continues to receive construction materials from various regions in Ukraine.

Gerashchenko visited Avdiyivka with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius and Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Volodymyr Yatsenkivsky, as well as parliament Poroshenko Bloc faction deputy Iryna Lutsenko.

"It's important that the EU representatives see with their own eyes and are convinced of the horrors of war waged by Russians against Ukraine. Linkevicius during the spring of 2016 was in Shyrokyne, and the minister can tell his colleagues, EU foreign ministers, what he has seen. This is evidence, this is first-hand information that is invaluable in the discussion about sanctions. The truth should be told to EU states and NATO member states," she said.

Visiting School No. 3 in Avdiyivka, Gerashchenko said, "The children drew a big heart [for Linkevicius] to pass on to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite – with the words, 'with love from Ukraine.'"