{"id":40703,"date":"2015-08-28T10:30:22","date_gmt":"2015-08-28T10:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=32265"},"modified":"2015-08-28T20:58:31","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T17:58:31","slug":"32265-stelmah-ato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/32265-stelmah-ato","title":{"rendered":"ATO Staff Spokesperson: Russia-backed militants violate ceasefire 291 times over the last three days"},"content":{"rendered":"

WATCH IN ENGLISH<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyiv, August 28, 2015.<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0From August 25-27, the situation in the ATO area remained tense. In disagreement with the Minsk agreement, militants actively used weapons that should have been removed from the demarcation line according to the accords. The situation appeared the direst in Mariupol sector. “Over three days, from August 25 to 27, Russian-terrorist forces violated the ceasefire 291 times,” said Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Stelmakh, the ATO Staff spokesperson, via Skype at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.<\/p>\n

On August 27, military clashes continued in Mariupol sector. “From midnight to 10 a.m., militants fired at our positions three times using 122-millimeter artillery in Starohnativka,” said Stelmakh. \u00a0The militants also used 152 mm and 122 mm artillery and 82-millimeter mortars.<\/p>\n

Later on that day, militants continued escalating the conflict, said Stelmax. “At about 9 p.m. the militants fired at our positions from 122-mm artillery in Novohryhorivka and twice in Starohnativka. Near Donetsk, militants fired at Opytne from almost 10 pm until midnight using 82 and 120 mm mortars and small arms. And at 10:40 p.m, the militants fired from Grad multiple rocket launchers without hiding the presence of weapons near the boundary line,\u201d said Stelmakh.<\/p>\n

Also, at about half past nine in the evening and almost at midnight, militants used 122-millimeter artillery to fire upon the Avdiivka residential area from the direction of the Donetsk airport, despite the absence of Ukrainian forces in this town, emphasized Stelmakh.<\/p>\n