Kyiv says militia activity declining a bit but heavy weapons still being used
KYIV. April 24 (Interfax) - The militia is still using mortar and cannon calibers forbidden by the Minsk agreements and tanks, the army operation staff has said.
There has been a decline in the militia activity in Donbas but "the enemy is not honoring the truce and widely using forbidden and other armaments against ATO forces," Presidential Administration representative for the army operation Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said at a press briefing on Friday.
The Ukrainian servicemen were attacked nine times by use of 120mm mortars and three times by 122mm cannons in the past 24 hours. Besides that, there was sniper and tank fire, he said.
Shyrokyne is the only unstable area in the Mariupol sector, Motuzyanyk said. "Militants have been unsuccessfully trying to advance in that area, but National Guard servicemen stop those attempts," he said.
Southwestern outskirts of Horlivka and the Donetsk airport are the focus of confrontations in the Donetsk sector, the official noted.
He claimed the militia continued to shell civilians, including 26 mines fired at Avdiivka residential areas.
The militia was active near Shchastya in the Luhansk sector. They were using small arms, Motuzyanyk said.
Five flights by unmanned aerial vehicles were observed in the army operation zone in the past day, he added.