The militants have opened fire 57 times on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in past 24 hours, resulting in injuries of five soldiers, the press centre of the Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) headquarters has reported.

The ATO staff said that the militants conducted 57 attacks on Ukrainian army positions over the day, inflicting injuries on five servicemen. Kyiv described the situation in southeastern Ukraine as complicated. "There have been signs of deterioration in certain sectors of the contact line," the staff said on Facebook on Friday morning.

The militants conducted 29 attacks on the Ukrainian military in the Mariupol sector. Ukrainian strongholds near Krasnohorivka came under fire of mortars of various calibers, a tank, an infantry combat vehicle, an anti-aircraft gun and infantry armaments at about 9 p.m. Several mines hit a residential area near the city hospital, yet no casualties were reported. The militants attacked the same populated locality at the end of the day, using 120mm mortars and 152mm artillery systems. Consequences of that attack are being verified, the staff said.

In addition, the militants fired mortars on Ukrainian army positions near Shyrokyne and Maryinka in the same sector, it said.

Twenty-six ceasefire breaches of the militants were observed in the Donetsk sector, the staff said.

Tensions were the highest in the suburb of Avdiyivka. Mortars and Grad rocket launchers shelled Ukrainian army positions in that area on Thursday afternoon, and the gunfire continued after dusk, the staff said. Tensions persisted near Luhanske, in the Svitlodarsk bulge area, where the militants were firing 82mm mortars and grenade launchers, while infantry combat vehicle weapons and small arms were used near Mayorske, the staff said.

There were only two shelling incidents in the Luhansk sector, the staff said.