Militant forces have opened fire on Ukrainian military positions in Donbas 72 times in the past 24 hours, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in eastern Ukraine said on its Facebook account on Tuesday morning.

"The heaviest shelling was recorded in the Donetsk sector, to be more precise in the town of Avdiyivka," the press center said.

Ukrainian military positions came under mortar fire on 21 occasions, it noted.

Weapons banned by the Minsk agreements were used against the villages of Luhanske, Leninske, Zaitseve and Mayorsk.

Small arms and grenade launchers were fired at Ukrainian military positions in the town of Maryinka, near the Ukrainian-controlled strategic port city of Mariupol. The village of Popasna in Luhansk region came under fire as well.

In the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have opened fire ten times in order to deter militants and stop them from advancing, the press center said.

"In general, the situation in the ATO zone remains tense and tends to escalate," the ATO HQ said.