Lysenko: Ukrainian armored car drove over a landmine, killing one soldier and wounding five
The Speaker of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Andrey Lysenko, reported that militants haven’t stopped provocative shelling with the use of grenade launchers, machine guns and mortars. Lysenko stated at a briefing that in the last few days one Ukrainian soldier was killed and five were wounded in the operation zone in eastern Ukraine.
“Yesterday, one of our combat reconnaissance vehicles drove over a landmine near the village of Gnutovo in the Donetsk region. One serviceman was lost and five were wounded,” Lysenko said. The Speaker also reported that militants continue to carry out provocations in the Donetsk region, in particular at Svetlodarskaya Duga. On December 3rd, territory near the villages of Luganskoye and Lozovoye was attacked by separatists using machine guns and grenade launchers of different types. Four 82 mm mortar shells were fired at the Ukrainian positions.
Lysenko emphasized that the situation in the area surrounding the Donetsk airport remains unchanged. The ceasefire was violated in Avdeevka, Peski and Opytnoye, but it was calm in Krasnogorovka and Marinka. One provocation was recorded in the Mariupol area near Shyrokyne. No military action was carried out around Lugansk.
Since the anti-terrorist operation in the Donbas region began in April of 2014, more than 2,600 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed. Since September 2015, the parties to the conflict agreed on a ceasefire, which saw the official withdrawal of weapons over 100 mm in caliber from the front lines. The parties in the conflict generally followed this stipulation, with a few exceptions.
However, since November, shellings of Ukrainian servicemen by militants have increased. The OSCE mission noted that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of attacks in the Donbas region. According to the press center of the anti-terrorist organization, during a 12 hour period from the night of December 3rd to the morning of December 4th, the position of Ukrainian troops in the Donbas was shelled approximately 14 times.