Ukrainian army combat outposts and individual positions in the region of Donbass were attacked by separatist forces 15 times over the course of 24 hours yesterday. One Ukrainian soldier was killed in action and seven injured during the fighting. The press center for Ukraine’s Anti-terrorism Operation headquarters released the following statement, “In the Luhansk sector, the enemy was active near the village of Troyitske, where it had for several hours been firing from 122mm and 100mm artillery systems, mortars, infantry fighting vehicles, anti-aircraft guns, and grenade launchers. In the vicinity of Krymske and Svitlodarsk, illegal armed formations employed 82mm mortars and small arms, while the defenders of the village of Katerynivka came under fire from an anti-tank missile system and grenade launchers.”

In the area of Mariupol, indirect fire became the focus of separatist efforts. The pro Russian militants employed the use of 120mm mortars around the villages of Lebedynske and Lomakyne. The attacks continued with the militants launching 82mm mortars alongside BMP armored personnel carriers armed with heavy machine guns in an effort to destroy Ukrainian army bunkers and outposts near the village Pisky. Simultaneously, near the village of Avdiyivka, Ukrainian positions received fire from grenade launchers in the form of indirect fire.

Attacks like these are a common occurrence and often the primary means of harassing each other from the respective sides of the conflict zones but are seldom seen in coordination. The effort to simultaneously attack multiple positions along the front lines may be a prelude to an impending assault or land grab by separatist based forces. Maneuvers and offensive tactics similar to this have been made by the pro Russian forces in the past. The Ukrainian army has not released any additional information at this time and has made no mention of further attacks occurring against their positions.

Featured Image Courtesy of Ліонкінг via Wikimedia Commons