One woman has been killed and five local residents injured in artillery fire in Luhansk over the past 24 hours, the city council said.

The 48-year-old woman was killed on the balcony of her own apartment, the city council said.

A number of residential houses were damaged, as was the building of the Kamianobridsky district council near which armed clashes occurred with fighters using artillery and small-arms weapons.

Furthermore, a shell hit the building of a regional State Auto Inspectorate authority, damaging a pipeline, as well as a trolleybus overhead line and street light wires as a result. An emergency team tackled a gas leak. At this moment efforts are under way to repair the overhead lines and wires.

Emergency power shutdowns are in place.

"The past 24 hours saw 146 ambulance dispatches, including five in response to gunshot wounds and injuries sustained as a result of the hostilities," the statement said.

Representatives of Ukrainian government forces have repeatedly stated that the anti-terrorist operation forces had been banned from using aviation and artillery in Luhansk and Donetsk and that the cities were shelled by militants.