Colonel Andriy Lysenko: Several firefights between ATO troops and militants take place yesterday

Militants’ troops are reinforced by manpower and equipment which results in more intense attacks at Ukrainian forces. Insurgents are mostly using mortar launchers. One Ukrainian soldier taken prisoner as a result of an ambush.

Kyiv, July 16, 2016. Several firefights between ATO troops and militants took place in Mariinka and Bohdanivka in the Mariupol sector yesterday. Subverters’ attacks were successfully defeated. Intense mortar attacks were registered in Krasnohorivka and Shyrokyne where militants launched over 80 mortar shells, informed the spokesman of the Presidential Administration on ATO related issues Colonel Andriy Lysenko at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

“According to the military intelligence, frontline positions of so-called 9th regiment deployed in the Mariupol sector were strengthened by sniper groups, which resulted in numerous attacks by sniping fire at Ukrainian troops. Advanced Russia mobile radio monitoring system “Svet-KU” has been deployed in the same area, he said. Regardless of the restless situation, Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses in the past 24 hours, but six servicemen were injured.

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Firefight between ATO troops and militants controlling the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets River took place in Stanytsia Luhanska in the Luhansk sector. At the same time, active hostilities took place in the vicinity of Popasna. “Adversaries conducted a series of mortar attacks at our positions, launching over 25 mortar shells. Enemies opened fire two times more in the same area after the sunset,” said Col. Lysenko. Three hostile artillery attacks were registered in the Donetsk sector near Nevelske. Numerous mortar attacks took place in Zaitseve, Verkhniotoretske and in Avdiivka-Pisky frontline area. “Russia-backed militant groups repeatedly violated the ceasefire at the Svitlodarsk bulge and along the entire perimeter of the occupied Horlivka. A checkpoint at the entrance to Horlivka came under militants attack from armored personnel carrier in Maiorsk. Ukrainian troops responded with fire in all the key strongholds,” said the spokesman.

According to Col. Lysenko, one Ukrainian serviceman who was heavily injured near Krymske on July 13 as a result of tripping an explosive device died in hospital. Another soldier was captured. “Yesterday afternoon in Mariinka a group of Ukrainian servicemen set out to patrol the area to find items of ordnance on the road frequented by civilians.  Our group was ambushed during the patrolling. One serviceman was taken captive as a result. Ukrainian authorities and military command are doing their best to release him,” he stated.

At the same time, four militants died and five more were wounded in the past 24 hours. “These were the militants from so-called 11th regiment (Makiivka), 3rd brigade (Horlivka), 6th regiment (Stakhanov), 2nd brigade (Luhansk) of the Russian occupational troops. Moreover, 10 occupants died and 13 were wounded on the night of July 14-15,” said Col. Lysenko.

According to the military intelligence, rotation of militants from the 331th parachute regiment of the 98th special forces airborne division of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation took place in Donetsk. Moreover, Russian signals intelligence system “Zoopark-1” set out from Donetsk northwards. Military intelligence also published personal data of certain commanders and gun-layers of cannon sections of so-called “1st howitzer self-propelled artillery battery of the 5th brigade” of the Russian occupational forces, the following among them: 44-years-old Roman Bezsmertnyi, 41-years-old Serhiy Kovaliov, 27-years-old Oleksandr Shpudeiko and 22-years-old Oleksandr Nikitin. “They are war criminals who are shelling residential quarters from heavy armor,” emphasized the spokesman.