Fighting has picked up in the Donbas again, with three Ukrainian soldiers being killed and four injured over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military reported on Feb. 16.
International monitors with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe recorded about 80 explosions in the last 24 hours. Most of those occurred near the Ukraine-controlled town of Avdiyivka, and in the Russian-controlled areas of Yasynuvata and Donetsk airport.
At least 35 attacks were launched by Russian-backed forces over 24 hours in the Donetsk Oblast villages of Pisky, Kamyanka and Zaitseve. A sniper attacked Ukrainian army positions in the Svitlodarsk area near Novoluhanske and Zaitseve, according to Ukrainian authorities. Meanwhile, Russian-backed fighters attacked with large-caliber machine guns, grenade launchers and mortars in the village of Krymske, Lobacheve and Novooleksandrivka.
The areas east and north-east of the coastal city of Mariupol – the largest Ukraine-controlled city in Donetsk Oblast – have also seen sporadic fighting over the last day. The towns of Maryinka, Vodyane, Shyrokyne – where the fighters used antitank missile systems – and Pavlopil remained hot spots.
According to the General Staff’s estimates, Russian-backed forces launched over 70 mortar shells on Ukrainian positions. The Russian proxies also sporadically violated the ceasefire in the area around Popasna and in Lobacheve. In total, six attacks took place in Luhansk Oblast over the past 24 hours.
The death toll from Russia’s war in Ukraine has reached more than 10,000 people, and the fighting has displaced 1.7 million citizens. According to United Nations estimates, nearly 800,000 people have fled the country since the war started in 2014.
