Kyiv, March 13, 2016. Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses in combat in the ATO zone yesterday and seven troops were wounded. “The situation was the most difficult in the Donetsk sector, where 83 attacks took place in the last 24 hours. Every third attack involved use of heavy armor,” said spokesman of Presidential Administration on ATO-related issues Colonel Oleksandr Motuzyanyk at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. Militants shot from tanks near Avdiivka twice, conducted an artillery attack from 122-mm cannon and launched 63 shells from mortar launchers. Russia-backed militant groups used armored personnel carrier and anti-tank guided missiles three times near Luhanske settlement at the Svitlodarsk bulge. Militants’ snipers were active near Luhanskeand Myronivske.
Moreover, the situation is difficult near Horlivka. Russia-backed militant groups are actively using small arms, grenade launchers ad 82-mm mortar launchers. Small arms and grenade launchers were used near Maiorsk. Two provocations were instigated near Novhorodske settlement and one near Verkhniotoretske. Militants used small arms, large machine guns and grenade launchers in the vicinity of Donetsk airport, near Opytne and Pisky. Moreover, two mortar attacks on ATO troops’ positions were registered.
In the Luhansk sector militants violated the ceasefire once near Novozvanivka village in Popasna district using large machine guns. Moreover, insurgents violated the armistice eight times in 24 hours in the Mariupol sector. “Russia-backed militant groups shot from 120-mm and 82-mm mortars at ATO troops near Hnutove and Talakivka. Another mortar shelling took place near Vodiane village. Moreover, an anti-tank guided missile was launched there,” informed the spokesman. Militants violated the ceasefire near Mariinka several times, and a militants’ sniper was shooting there twice.
Col. Motuzyanyk informed that law enforcements arrested a former head of Novyi Aidar district council yesterday. He is suspected of organizing a pseudo referendum on May 11, 2014. “It has been identified that he was charging members and heads of local councils with tasks, solved the issues of providing premises for holding a so-called ‘voting’, organized and monitored activity of the so-called ‘headquarters’ and later secured publication of results in local mass media,” said Col. Motuzyanyk. He added that the court made a decision to leave the detained under arrest until the sentence has been announced.
