The situation in eastern Ukraine further escalated yesterday, on March 25. Russia-backed militants committed 44 ceasefire violations yesterday, using tanks, mortars, and infantry fighting vehicles. They fired a total of thirty 120-mm and 82-mm mortar rounds at Ukrainian positions, reported Ukrainian Ministry of Defense spokesman Colonel Dmytro Hutsulyak at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
Forty-two of 44 ceasefire violations committed by Russian proxies took place in Donetsk sector, 34 of these were direct fire attacks. “Immediately after midnight, militants shelled our positions in Opytne and Pisky areas with 120-mm and 82-mm mortars. In the morning, they used 82-mm mortars in Talakivka,” said Col. Hutsulyak. In Pisky area militants also employed a tank having fired three rounds. Moreover, they used 120-mm mortars near Lebedynske at 16:40 and near Shyrokyne at about 18:00. Near Avdiivka, Shakhta Butovka, Talakivka, Verkhniotoretske, Kamianka, Maryinka, Bohdanivka, Hnutove, Novotroitske, Pavlopil, Krasnohorivka, and Vodiane militants used small arms, grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns. In Hnutove and Shakhta Butovka area the enemy employed infantry fighting vehicles. Moreover, hostile snipers were spotted in Kamianka, Shyrokyne, Shakhta Butovka, Krasnohorivka, and Maryinka areas.
In Luhansk sector, Russian proxies violated the ceasefire twice. “At about 20:40, militants started firing at Ukrainian positions in Novhorodske. This attack continued for more than two hours. Later, between 22:30 and midnight, they attacked our positions near Troitske with heavy machine guns,” elaborated the spokesman.
Unfortunately, one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and one more wounded in action yesterday.
Report on the military developments as of March 25 is available here. Interactive data on the shelling: chronology shelling chart and the interactive map.
