Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and ten were wounded on Thursday in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in the east of the country, spokesman for Defense Ministry for ATO matters Oleksandr Motuzianyk said.

"Last day, three Ukrainian soldiers were killed as the result of hostilities, ten were injured. One of our military died in Zaitseve, one in Avdiyivka and one in Vodiane. One military was wounded in Zaitseve, one in Lebedynske, and one Shyrokyne, other cases occurred in Avdiyivka," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

In the Luhansk sector, the flash point was the town of Krymske, where two mortar attacks by militants were registered. The village of Luhanske, Lobacheve and the Popasna district were shelled as well, Motuzianyk said.

Eight cases of ceasefire violations were registered in the Luhansk sector, two of them with the use of heavy weapons.

In the Donetsk sector, the situation in the vicinity of Avdiyivka deteriorated. Illegal armed groups fired there on Thursday night, the ATO spokesman said.

Moreover, massive shellings began at 15:00 and lasted until midnight.

In the Mariupol sector, militants used mortars near Pavlopil, they used mortars and tanks in Shyrokyno, and snipers were also firing in these areas. Maryinka and Novotroitske were also shelled.

All in all, 37 cases of ceasefire violations were registered in the Mariupol area, 14 of them with the use of heavy weapons.