Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed in action yesterday, and eight more were wounded. “Moreover, a military helicopter Mi-2 crashed near Malynivka village not far from Kramatorsk. Three members of the crew and two passengers were killed. The aircraft fell as a result of collision with power transmission line. All five casualties were officers of Ukrainian Armed Forces,” informed Ministry of Defense of Ukraine spokesman on ATO related issues Colonel Andriy Lysenko during a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
According to Defense Ministry, militants shelled Avdiivka’s residential quarters with Grad MRLS around 11:00 damaging 18 buildings. Hostilities in Avdiivka continued over 10 hours with pauses, over 200 mortar rounds were fired at ATO troops. Shooting attacks at Ukrainian positions continued virtually non-stop in the afternoon. “Unlike the previous days, militants were shelling the town and the adjacent areas from all possible directions: southern, southeastern and eastern,” said the spokesman. In the afternoon, Russian proxies conducted several mortar and tank attacks in the flank positions in Kamianka and Shakhta Butovka.
Militants were conducting active mortars and tank fire along the entire frontline in the Donetsk sector, where a total of 33 attacks were recorded yesterday. Russian proxies were active at Svitlodarsk area in the afternoon, where they repeatedly used armored personnel carriers in addition to mortar launchers and cannons. One attack continued four hours non-stop. “The situation was the same near Horlivka. Militants were shooting in Zaitseve and Verkhniotoretske,” added Col. Lysenko. Russia-backed militants shot several times from the territory of the ruined airport in Pisky and Opytne.
In the Luhansk sector 12 attacks were recorded yesterday, six of them involved heavy weapons. Most of the attacks took place in the Popasna area. The enemy used 152-mm mortars and cannons in Troitske, firing from southern direction. “Occupants conducted four mortar attacks in Krymske, launching over 20 shells. Moreover, militants used armored weaponry. Russian proxies violated the ceasefire in Stanytsia Luhanska,” informed the spokesman.
In the Mariupol sector militants used heavy armor, namely mortas, tanks and 152-mm cannons. Ukrainian troops were returning fire. “The most intense attacks took place in Hnutove and Vodiane. Moreover, sporadic hostile provocations were recorded in other areas, namely Krasnohorivka, Novotroitske and Novohryhorivka. In total, 43 hostile attacks occurred in the Mariupol sector in the past 24 hours,” said Col. Lysenko.
Report on the military developments as of March 26 is available here. Interactive data on the shelling: chronology shelling chart and the interactive map.
