Situation in ATO zone escalated

Situation in ATO zone escalated

Russia's hybrid military forces have attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 17 times in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as killed in action and another three as wounded in action, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters has reported.

At the end of the past day, the situation in the Donbas conflict zone again escalated. In the second half of the day, the Russian occupation forces intensified provocative attacks almost along the entire demarcation line," the staff said.

In the Mariupol sector, the militants opened fire from 82mm mortars and cannons of infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) on the defenders of the village of Hnutove. The invaders also used IFVs near the villages of Mykolaivka, Vodiane and Berezove. One Ukrainian soldier was wounded as a result of grenade launcher shelling of a Ukrainian fortified position near the village of Novotroyitske.

In the Luhansk sector, the Ukrainian positions near the village of Novotoshkivske came under fire from mortars. After 18:00 Kyiv time, the enemy continued shelling the Ukrainian fortified positions near the village of Krymske. At first, the Russian-backed mercenaries used heavy machine guns and 82mm mortars. Closer to midnight, the enemy lobbed ten 120mm shells, killing two Ukrainian soldiers and wounding another two.

In addition, the invaders resorted to using an anti-tank grenade launcher against Ukrainian troops deployed near Butovka coal mine outside the militant-occupied city of Donetsk.