REUTERS

"From 16:00 to 17:00 local time on Wednesday, they were using 122mm Grad MLRS's to fire from the village of Kominternove, which was invaded by Russian mercenaries late last year, towards the village of Sakhanka in the Mariupol sector," the ATO HQ said.

The occupiers stationed in Kominternove also fired 120mm mortars, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missile systems in the direction of the village of Oktiabr, which is also controlled by the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) terrorist organization.

"In both cases, these provocative attacks were staged to shift blame for the violation of the Minsk agreements onto the ATO forces," the press center said.

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As UNIAN reported earlier, Donbas militants on Wednesday attacked Ukrainian troops near the towns of Maryinka and Avdiyivka in Donetsk region, using grenade launchers of various systems. Since the beginning of Wednesday, they have shelled the ATO forces 15 times.

The combined Russian-separatist forces were reported to have occupied the village of Kominternove late in December 2015. OSCE observers, who were not immediately let in the area to verify reports about the occupation, were later granted access, which was in fact limited to central parts of the village. Numerous banned weaponry, including mortars, main battle tanks, self-propelled guns and a 220mm Uragan MLRS, were spotted in the village and nearby areas.