5 Ukrainian soldiers die in Donetsk
2015-08-07
Posted by: badanov
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A total of five Ukrainian soldiers, two civilians and another six were wounded in artillery attacks in Donetsk, according to Russian language news accounts.
Colonel Alexander Motuzyanik, spokesman for the Ukrainian ministry of defense's main military effort in Ukraine, the Antiterrorist Operation (ATO) said Thursday that artillery fire, albeit at lower levels of intensity, continued in several hotspots in both Donetsk and Lugansk. News reports failed to detail the fate of two of the five killed in action, while reporting that three men of the Ukrainian 74th Reconnaissance Battalion were killed when they stepped on a land mine near the village of Karlovka.
A total of 65 instances of ceasefire violations by rebel forces were recorded by Ukrainian forces Thursday including in western districts of Donetsk city and near Gorlovka, which is north of Donetsk city.
Districts in western Donetsk city hit by rebel artillery include Peski, Avdievka and Opytnoye. All three are directly on the front line, and have been issues between the two combatants since February. Ukrainian media say 120mm mortars were used in the attack.
Near Gorlovka, rebel artillery hit Ukrainian positions in Kurdyumovka.
Ukrainian artillery struck targets in western Donetsk city on Wednesday, including at Spartak, the Oktyabrsky district and at the Donetsk airport, according to data supplied by the Donetsk ministry of defense. Artillery used on those attacks include 122mm and 152mm artillery, 82mm and 120mm mortars, and tank gunfire (125mm).
Rebel media said that on Thursday Gorlovka was shelled overnight, killing two unidentified civilians.
The artillery fire was described by the Donetsk official news website as most intense in Novoazovskiy in far southern Donetsk, on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov. The village of Primorsk was struck more than 30 times on Thursday. Now that rebel forces have abandoned Shirokino in a unilateral act of goodwill, Primorsk and Novoazovskiy are now considered to be the rebels' front line in far southern Donetsk.
Rebel official media said that Ukrainian artillery fire struck rebel positions near Spartak and the airport on Thursday.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
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