Militants trying to take Debaltseve at any cost - Kyiv

14:23, 16.02.2015 1 min read

The situation in the Debaltseve area remains tense and the enemy is not observing the ceasefire regime, Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine, said.

"According to operative information, the militants have an order to take Debaltseve at any cost and provoke our military," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.

Lysenko added that militants opened fire on Debaltseve 88 times in the past 24 hours, using different weapons, and a total of 129 attacks have been registered in the operation zone.

"Our military only returned fire," Lysenko said.

Lysenko said the enemy has intensified air reconnaissance and the military "have detected six enemy drones, including three in the area of the populated area of Hnutove and Shyrokyne near Mariupol."

"Ukrainian air defense systems shot down seven drone planes on the Western track in the past month," Lysenko said.