Kyiv, November 20, 2015. Militants continue instigating provocations in the ATO zone near Horlivka. Pro-Russian militant groups repeatedly use light arms and grenade launchers near Zaitseve, Maiorsk and Novhorodske. Militants hide in residential quarters and shoot from close distance. The situation is similar in the vicinity of Donetsk airport. “Militants were provoking our troops to open fire without use of heavy armament. Moreover, two firefights between ATO forces and militants took place yesterday between Spartak and Opytne. Fortunately, Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses,” said Presidential Administration spokesperson on ATO-related issues Colonel Andriy Lysenko at press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. Attacks took place in the sector between the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia roads. Militants used multiple launch‘Grad’ rocket systems twice, launching two missiles each time. “Militants were shooting not at ATO position, but directly at Krasnohorivka. Moreover, the militants used 82mm mortar launcher there, firing three mines,” said the spokesperson. Militants committed up to 10 armed provocations in the area of Maryinka and Krasnohorivka without use of heavy armament.
Yesterday Russia-backed militant groups violated the ceasefire in the Luhansk sector only in Bakhmutivska road near Novotoshkivske yesterday. “Militants located in the neighboring Holubivske shot from light arms and anti-aircraft mount ЗУ-23-2 at our positions,” elaborated Col. Lysenko.
The situation remained calm in the Mariupol direction. “Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses in combat yesterday, but one serviceman was wounded,” said Col. Lysenko.
Police investigators detained a resident of the Luhansk region who was supplying militants with information on movements of Ukrainian troops to his son (with the nom de guerre ‘Chekist’) serving in the ranks of self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’. The son was passing the information to his Russian supervisor.
Moreover, law enforcement officers in Mariinka seized three militants. Two of them were fighting in the Vostok battalion, of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ militant group, but received no payment and fled home, where they were detained. “Another detained is a female officer at prison on the occupied territory. All three are facing up to 15 years in prison,” said the spokesperson.
Ukraine’s Security Service found a masked cache with three anti-tank grenade launchers. Jet-driven flame thrower МРО-А made in Russia was seized in Olhynka settlement, Volnovakha district. “There no flamethrowers of this type in the inventory of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is more evidence of Russia supplying its puppets in the east of Ukraine with weapons and munitions,” emphasized Col. Lysenko.
Law enforcement officers found another cache with weapons in Kharkiv not far from the ring road. A grenade launcher RPG-22, four hand grenades with detonators and a box containing over 1000 cartridges to AK-47 assault rifle were seized. Ukrainian border guards jointly with policemen found a cache with 20 mortar bombs. “A local resident informed border guards about suspicious packages,” said Col. Lysenko.
