Ukraine Day 1248: LIVE UPDATES BELOW. Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four wounded in action today.
Yesterday’s coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here.
An Invasion By Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine
Two civilian males injured in Avdeyevka from Russia-backed shelling July 18, 2017. Photo by ATO.
According to the 6:00 am dispatch by the ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation], Russia-backed forces attacked 23 times today, mainly along the Donetsk line.
At 6 pm, the ATO reported that while attacks had lessoned they were concentrated on the Mariupol line. Militants fired small arms and grenade-launchers for two hours near Pavlopol. A sniper was active at Maryinka at noon, and a Ukrainian soldier was killed in shelling there. Snipers were also active at Novotroitskoye and an armed BMP was also used to attack.
Militants fired on Avdeyevka again in the evening and at the Butovksa mine with grenade-launchers and small arms. The ATO returned fire four times.
The ATO commented (translation by The Interpreter):
“Analyzing the situation along the line of contact in the previous days, the conclusions can be made that during daylight time, when monitors are working actively, the militants reduce the number of shellings. At night, the enemy activates provocative fire and clearly is trying to drag the ATO forces into armed conflict”.
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
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