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Ministry of Defense: Militants use civil infrastructure to conceal their military elements

Полковник Олександр Мотузяник, речник Міністерства оборони України з питань АТО. УКМЦ, 14.02.2017

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Militants are using civil infrastructure in the temporarily occupied territories in the east of Ukraine to conceal their military elements. “According to the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine,  militants located seven self-propelled anti-aircraft mounts on the territory of a kindergarten in Mokroielanchyk, Amvrosiivka district in Donetsk region, and an APC element on the premises of a maternity hospital in Yuzhna Lomovatka in the Luhansk region, said 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. Moreover, command of self-proclaimed “Luhansk people’s republic” plans to evict a TB hospital in Rovenky to organize a hospital for wounded militants.

Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses in combat in the ATO zone yesterday, and one soldier was wounded in Shyrokyne.

Militants attacked 40 times in 24 hours in the Mariupol sector, and 11 incidents involved use of heavy weapons.  The situation remains complicated in the seaside. Following several provocations from small arms, militants switched over to heavy weapons around 1 p.m. They were shelling ATO defense lines in Vodiane and Shyrokyne for three hours. “They were widely using various grenade launchers and large machine guns in this area till late night. Insurgents violated the ceasefire in Mariinka district twice – in the morning and in the afternoon, using mortars with small arms in both cases,” said the spokesman.

Most militants’ attacks in the Donetsk sector took place in Avdiivka – Pisky frontline area. Russian proxies were periodically using mortar launchers in this area. “They were shelling Ukrainian positions around Avdiivka over seven hours in total,” added Col. Motuzyanyk. Militants violated the armistice in the Horlivka perimeter – in Zaitseve in the north and Verkhniotoretske in the south, where they also used mortar launchers. Shooting were sporadic.  Another armed provocation of Russian proxies was registered at the Svitlodarsk bulge. They opened fire from small arms at Ukrainian positions in Luhanske before dawn. In total, 27 militants’ attacks took place in the Donetsk sector yesterday.

In the Luhansk sector militants were active in the Popasna district, Krymske and Stanytsia Luhanska yesterday.  They mostly opened fire in the afternoon there, using small arms. “Krymske was the exception, as they briefly shelled our positions from mortar launchers,” said the spokesman.  In total, militants violated the ceasefire five times in the Luhansk sector.

Report on the military developments as of February 13 is available here. Interactive data on the shelling: chronology shelling chart and the interactive map.