Donbas war update: 61 attacks on Ukraine, three skirmishes in last day

Tuesday, July 26, 2016 - 10:05 (EEST) Section: Latest news

The combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 61 times in the past 24 hours while three skirmishes – two in the town of Maryinka and one in the town of Avdiyivka – were reported, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.
The Mariupol sector was attacked 29 times, the Donetsk sector 27 times and the Luhansk sector five times, the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
In particular, in the Mariupol sector, the enemy used 122mm artillery systems and 120mm mortars near the village of Talakivka, as well as 120mm mortars near the village of Vodiane and the town of Krasnohorivka.
An enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group attempted to seize Ukrainian fortified positions twice in Maryinka. ”At 19:07 Kyiv time, about 30 occupiers, under the cover of aimed fire, came close to the positions of our troops. In response, the Ukrainian defenders used grenade launchers and small arms. Having suffered losses, the enemy had to retreat. Later, at 19:20 Kyiv time, another attempt by the Russian-backed forces to insidiously attack the Ukrainian fortified positions near Maryinka also ended in their defeat,” the press center said.
In addition, the enemy fired from 82mm mortars, guns of infantry fighting vehicles, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns in areas neighboring the Sea of Azov.
In the Donetsk sector, the situation was tense in Avdiyivka where the enemy fired 122mm self-propelled guns, 120mm and 82mm mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms on the Ukrainian positions.
At about 17:10 on Monday, an enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group of up to eight people tried to storm a Ukrainian observation post in Avdiyivka. ”Our soldiers came into fire contact with the saboteurs. Having suffered losses, the enemy had to retreat,” the headquarters said.
In addition, the militants fired 120mm mortars near the village of Troyitske, 82mm mortars in the villages of Opytne and Nevelske, and grenade launchers in the villages of Novhorodske and Luhanske.
In Luhansk region, the enemy fired from different weapons on the Ukrainian fortified positions in the town of Zolote, and the villages of Novotoshkivske, Novozvanivka, Novo-Oleksandrivka, and Lopaskyne.