Ukrainian army increasingly using mortars, heavy artillery, tensions escalate - LPR
MOSCOW/KYIV. July 11 (Interfax) - The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) has reported an escalation of tensions on the contact line.
"The situation with attacks has been exacerbating. The ceasefire was mostly breached by means of small arms and light weapons before July 6-7, but then the Ukrainian army started using mortars, including those with calibers of over 100mm, and heavy artillery, likely on the occasion of the G20 summit," LPR negotiator Vladislav Deinego told Interfax.
The number of attacks has been unchanged, he said.
"The number of attacks has practically remained on the same level; the only difference is that Kyiv is again using forbidden weapons which were supposed to be withdrawn from the contact line in accordance with the Minsk Agreements. Such attacks have been ongoing," he said.
Later on Tuesday, a spokesman for the LPR people's militia, Andrey Marochko, stated that the Ukrainian troops were drawing military equipment and heavy weaponry towards the contact line in Donbas.
"Near the populated locality of Bolotene we discovered up to seven pieces of military equipment, including two T-64 tanks, three IFVs [infantry fighting vehicles] and two trucks with ammunition," Marochko told journalists.
The Ukrainian troops were seen moving their equipment on the contact line within the LPR militia's responsibility zone, the spokesman said.
"Our information is that, near the village of Shyrokiy, in Stanytsia Luhanska district, in the direction of the village of Valuiske, there has been movement of the enemy's military column consisting of two wheeled 152-millimeter Akatsiya self-propelled artillery weapons and three Ural trucks with ammunition," Marochko said.
The general situation on the contact line remains tense, with the Ukrainian troops having fired more than 50 rounds and grenades against the LPR over the past 24 hours, he said.
In turn, Ukrainian members of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) have reported a militia attack on Mariinka, which inflicted damage on a residential building. No civilian casualties were reported.
The Ukrainian mission to the JCCC said in a report posted on the Facebook page of the army operation staff that the attack occurred in the early hours of July 11 and employed AGS automatic grenade launchers and heavy machineguns.
A residential building on Heroiv Chornobylya Street sustained roof damage. A building hit by shells on Prokofyev Street suffered a brief fire.
