REUTERS

During the day on Thursday, the Kremlin-backed illegal armed groups shelled the ATO forces more than 40 times.

"On July 23, the Russian-terrorist forces fired on our positions more than 40 times. They used mortars to shell the villages of Rozsadky, Lozove, Opytne, Pershe Travnia, and the town of Avdiyivka," the press center said.

The enemy's intense fire did not stop, they used small arms and 82mm-caliber mortars to shell the Ukrainian troops near the town of Maryinka and the village of Opytne, which is near the militant-controlled city of Donetsk.

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"The illegal armed groups have also fired on ATO forces near the village of Pisky [close to the destroyed Donetsk airport] and the areas around the airport, as well as the town of Krasnohorivka and the villages of Triokhizbenka and Stanytsia Luhanska,"  ATO officials reported.

The situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk sectors is tense, but remains under control of the Ukrainian army, according to the ATO press center.

"The Ukrainian soldiers are courageously and firmly holding their defensive positions," it said.