REUTERS
The combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 56 times in the past 24 hours, including 35 times in the Donetsk sector and 21 times in the Mariupol sector, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) reported on Thursday.
After midnight, the enemy activity decreased significantly.
The militants launched about 20 mortar missiles on the Ukrainian fortified positions in the village of Pervomaiske, and the same number of missiles on the Ukrainian positions near the village of Zaitseve at about 18:00 local time. The enemy also fired mortars on fortified positions near the village of Nevelske.
In the Mariupol sector, the Russian mercenaries fired mortars on the Ukrainian fortified positions near the town of Maryinka, the villages of Hnutove and Chermalyk.
In addition, the occupiers fired rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and small arms on ATO forces near the towns of Maryinka and Avdiyivka, as well as the villages of Zaitseve, Mayorsk, Novoselivka, Opytne, Pisky and Novhorodske. They also fired an anti-aircraft gun near Krasnohorivka.
An enemy sniper opened fire on Ukrainian troops near Maryinka, Opytne, and Butivka coal mine.
In some cases, Ukrainian soldiers had to fire back, using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.
It became known yesterday that the militants had withdrawn from the village of Shyrokyne, near the Ukrainian-controlled strategic port city of Mariupol.