The situation in the Mariupol sector from Chermalyk to Shyrokyne remains difficult. Militants widely used armor, including tanks and mortar launchers in this area, in addition to small arms, said the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on ATO related issues Colonel Oleksanr Motuzyanyk during a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
Hostile snipers were active in Vodiane. Russian proxies conducted two artillery attacks there late at night. “Ukrainian troops are reliably holding our positions east of Mariupol, responding with fire from the weapons similar to those the enemy is using,” said Col. Motuzyanyk. Militants violated the armistice once in the Mariinka district, shelling Ukrainian positions near Krasnohorivka from various grenade launchers and small arms after the sunset. Insurgents conducted three attacks in Novotroitske yesterday, using mortar launchers once. Russian proxies were shooting from large caliber machine guns for two hours in Novohryhorivka after the sunset. In total, 64 militants’ attacks took place in the Mariupol sector, one third of them involved the use of heavy armor.
One Ukrainian serviceman was killed in combat yesterday, and five more sustained wounds and injuries.
Krymske came under militants’ fire for the biggest number of times in the Luhansk sector yesterday. Insurgents were shooting from four adjacent inhabited localities. The strongholds in Krymske were shelled from mortar launchers three times, and 152-mm artillery was used in the evening from the direction of Smile and Sentianovka. In total, Russian proxies fired almost 40 artillery shells at Ukrainian troops’ positions. Militants were using mortar launchers in Novotoshkivske in the morning and in Orikhove in the evening. Russia-backed militant groups shelled Novooleksandrivka in the Popasna district from mortar launcher at dawn. “Hostile forces were shelling Troitske from mortar launchers from 5 p.m. for 90 minutes, launching 30 mortar shells at our positions,” said the spokesman. 23 militants’ attacks took place in the Luhansk sector yesterday, and 17 involved the use of heavy armor.
In the Donetsk sector, brief militants’ provocations involving the use of small arms were registered in the vicinity of the Svitlodarsk bulge in the afternoon. Insurgents shelled ATO troops’ positions along the entire clash line in the vicinity of the Horlivka perimeter. Brief mortar attack at Zaitseve took place just after the midnight. Militants were shelling Verkhniotoretske, Maiorsk, Zaitseve and Novhorodske since 5 p.m. “Intense mortar attack from the direction of Yakovlivka took place in the vicinity of Avdiivka in the morning. The enemy used 82-mm and 120-mm mortar launchers. The town remains cut off the electricity supply since yesterday as a result of militants’ shooting attack. Repairs of damaged power transmission lines and Donetsk filtering station never started because of permanent threat of hostile attacks,” informed Col. Motuzyanyk. Russia-backed militants performed provocations from small arms in the flank positions in Kamianka, in the vicinity of the Donetsk airport and in Nevelske. Insurgents conducted 35 attacks in the Donetsk sector, and 19 of them involved the use of heavy armor.
Report on the military developments as of March 6 is available here. Interactive data on the shelling: chronology shelling chart and the interactive map.
