Chief of the Joint Operations Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Lieutenant-General Oleksandr Sirskiy has said that during the Sunday`s attack at Svitlodarska Duha, Russian-occupation troops fired from artillery systems and mortars from residential areas, which is prohibited by the Minsk agreements, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
”There were three fire raids lasting from three to six hours each. In general, during this period, 34 shells of 122mm caliber, 694 mines of 120mm and 82mm calibers were launched on our units,” Sirskiy said at a briefing on the current situation in the zone of the Anti-Terrorist Operation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
He also pointed out that the enemy had fired artillery systems from the village of Kalynivka, and the towns of Vuhlehirsk and Debaltseve. According to him, this ”did not allow the Ukrainian military to adequately respond in order to avoid civilian casualties.”
Sirskiy noted that the fighting had taken place in the area at a distance of 36 km from the demarcation line, determined by the Minsk memorandum dated September 19, 2014.
”Russian occupation troops should have withdrawn from this very area, including Debaltseve, Vuhlehirsk and other settlements, as it was repeatedly discussed at the meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk,” he said.
Chief of the Joint Operations Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reminded that as a result of the fighting, according to preliminary data, the enemy losses amounted to 20 KIA and over 30 WIA.
According to the ATO HQ, five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action and another six troops were wounded, while 10 soldiers were shell-shocked.
Sirskiy said that the situation at the Svitlodarska Duha was calm at the moment, but added that it could change dynamically. He assured that the situation was under control of the Ukrainian military.
Speaking about the Russian-occupation forces, Sirskiy said that the units of the 7th brigade and several special purpose units had been involved in the attack.
”These positions are of strategic importance to the enemy. I want to remind you that the events that we all remember of occurred there two years ago. Therefore, the enemy is trying to regain its footing, trying to move forward, to take a more advantageous position, because some sites are of great strategic importance for them,” Sirskiy said.
Thus, the Russian occupation troops tried to reach certain ”tactical success,” he added.
