Illegal armed formations started shelling the town of Avdiyivka with the use of mortars on Friday morning, while grenade launchers and small arms were used in other areas of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Snipers were also working, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarter said.
"Russian-backed mercenaries again fired mortars on the ATO positions in Avdiyivka's industrial areas at about 09:00 local time today. Attacks with the use of banned weapons are being launched with only one aim – they want to provoke return fire from Ukrainian artillery systems, tanks and mortars. As per the Minsk (ceasefire) agreements, our soldiers use only small-caliber weapons," the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook.
Militants use grenade launchers of various systems, small arms and snipers in other districts of Donetsk region – near the villages of Pisky (close to the ruined Donetsk airport), Luhanske, Novhorodske, and Opytne. These tactics are widely used by the enemy in other sectors – those of the Mariupol and Luhansk, where militants are aimed their fire towards the village of Novotroyitske and Novozvanivka, and the fire is chaotic.
"As of 14:00 local time on Friday, there had been 20 attacks on our forces already," the ATO HQ reported.
