Insurgents attacked 59 times in ATO zone yesterday, using heavy armor 10 times. Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses, and four troops were wounded, informed the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on ATO related issues Colonel Oleksandr Motuzyanyk at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
In the Donetsk sector the situation is the most restless in the vicinity of Avdiivka. “Hostile attacks continued about 5.5 hours with recesses. Militants fired 12 mortar shells at our positions in the evening. Moreover, the enemy violated the ceasefire in the adjacent positions, near Kamianka and Butovka coal mine,” he said.
In the vicinity of the Donetsk airport hostilities continued in Pisky and Opytne. “The adversaries delivered intense shooting attack at Pisky using mortar launchers, armor and light weapons. They launched 18 mortar shells. It was the most intense and lengthy hostile attack in the entire Donetsk sector,” emphasized Col. Motuzyanyk. Main hostilities at the Svitlodarsk bulge took place in Troitske, where Russia-backed militants conducted one mortar attack and used light weapons, namely sniping rifles. Moreover, insurgents violated the armistice in Luhanske. They shelled Zaitseve from light weapons and used mortar launchers and armored weaponry in Verkhiotoretske.
Two mortar attacks took place in Mariinka and one in Novotroitske in the Mariupol sector. Russia-backed militant groups used armored weaponry twice in Novohryhorivka. Insurgents are shelling almost every Ukrainian stronghold in Pavlopil – Shyrokyne frontline area. “Occupants are sporadically using mortars and APCs. The biggest number of attacks happened in Vodiane and Shyrokyne,” added he spokesman.
The situation was the calmest in the Luhansk sector yesterday. “The enemy attacked twice in Stanytsia Luhanska and Popasna districts in the evening, using no heavy armor,” said Col. Motuzyanyk.
Law enforcement officers detained a spy from self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” in Toretsk yesterday. “During his service in the militants’ ranks he was shelling Pisky, and then hostile intelligence services sent him to the government controlled territory to conduct reconnaissance,” explained the spokesman. Another suspect of complicity with militants was detained at Mariinka checkpoint. Moreover, in Mariupol officers of the National Guard of Ukraine detained a passenger of a regular bus who was involved with activity of Russia-backed militant groups.
Report on the military developments as of April 8 is available here. Interactive data on the shelling: chronology shelling chart and the interactive map.
