The largest number of attacks was recorded in the Mariupol sector / Photo from ATO HQ
Russian-backed militants attacked Ukrainian troops participating in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, 72 times in the last 24 hours, with areas close to the Ukrainian-controlled strategic port city of Mariupol being shelled 37 times, according to the press service of the ATO headquarters.
"The largest number of attacks was recorded in the Mariupol sector," the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
The enemy used weapons that are banned under the Minsk peace agreement on Donbas, including 152mm artillery to shell ATO forces in the town of Maryinka, and 122mm self-propelled guns to attack the town of Krasnohorivka. Maryinka and Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Starohnativka, Bohdanivka, Novohryhorivka, Vodiane and Shyrokyne, came under 120mm mortar fire.
Additionally, there were 30 attacks in the Donetsk sector. Militants also used 122mm artillery to shell the villages of Opytne and Pisky, which are close to the heavily damaged Donetsk airport. Additionally, the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Zaitseve came under 120mm mortar fire. The enemy also fired on ATO forces in those populated localities using 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various systems and small arms.
Read alsoRussia plotting offensive operations in Donbas - TurchynovFurther, the ATO HQ reported some five attacks in the Luhansk sector. In particular, the village of Novotoshkivske was shelled with 82mm mortars and by an anti-aircraft system, while the village of Stanytsia Luhanska survived barrages from grenade launchers of various types.
The ATO HQ stresses that the Ukrainian army controls the situation along the entire contact line.