Donbas militants have conducted 68 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in the past 24 hours using weapons prohibited by the Minsk peace agreements, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters has said.

"In the reporting period [from 06:00 Tuesday morning to 06:00 Wednesday morning], Ukrainian servicemen stationed near the village of Zaitseve and the town of Avdiyivka came under 22 attacks by forbidden weapons. Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked our positions with 250 mortar rounds (82mm and 120mm)," the ATO HQ reported on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

The militants also used 152mm tube artillery systems near Zaitseve, it said.

According to the press center, the militants shelled Ukrainian army positions near the villages of Mayorsk, Opytne, Novhorodske, Luhanske, Leninske, and Nevelske.

Ukrainian army positions were attacked with small arms, grenade launchers and large-caliber machineguns near the villages of Talakivka, Vodiane and Starohnativka and with mortars near the village of Shyrokyne in the Mariupol sector.

An automatic grenade launcher shelled Ukrainian army positions in the village of Novozvanivka and a sniper was active in the town of Schastia in Luhansk region.

The Ukrainian army had to return fire 20 times by use of small arms and grenade launchers in order to retain their positions, the press center said.