Ministry of Defense: A slight de-escalation recorded in eastern Ukraine

WATCH IN ENGLISH

Russian proxies decreased their activities in the combat zone yesterday and made a total of three precision attacks on the Ukrainian positions, reported Ukrainian Ministry of Defense spokesman on ATO Colonel Dmytro Hutsulyak at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

In Donetsk sector, Russian proxies violated the ceasefire near Shyrokyne and Kamianka. “At 17:00, militants delivered a 40-minute complex attack in Shyrokyne area. They fired five 82-mm mortar rounds and accompanied the shelling with heavy machine guns and small arms. The attack continued for 40 minutes,” Colonel Hutsulyak elaborated. Moreover, militants started a two-hour attack near Kamianka at 15:00 using grenade launchers, machine guns, and small arms.

In Luhansk sector, Russia-backed militants delivered a brief attack near Zaitseve at about 23:00 using grenade launchers and heavy machine guns.

Fortunately, Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no casualties yesterday.

The ATO spokesperson also quoted the information from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, saying that the command of the combined Russian-militant troops ordered to intensify reconnaissance activities by sending out subversive and reconnaissance groups to Ukrainian troops’ positions.

Report on the military developments as of January 15 is available here. Interactive data on the shelling: chronology shelling chart and the interactive map.