2 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Near Avdeyevka; 4 Soldiers Wounded; 42 Children Killed by Mines or Mishandled Munitions Since 2014

Two Ukrainian soldiers from a mechanized brigade were killed today in shelling near Avdeyevka (Avdiivka) by Russia-backed forces, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing the ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation] dispatch. Militants used 82-mm mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns in the attack.

Four Ukrainian soldiers were wounded today on the front line. Militants  attacked 22 times.

On the Maritime line near Maryinka, 82-mm mortars, automatic grenade-launchers and small arms were used to attack Pavlopol and Vodyanoye. Heavy machine guns attacked Chermalyk and Krasnogorovka, and small arms were used on Novoselovka Vtoraya.

On the Donetsk line near Avdeyevka, 82-mm mortars, heavy machine guns and small arms were used. A tank and 82-mm mortar launchers were used near the Butovka mine.

Ukrainian positions near Kamenka, Mayorsk, Zaytsevo and Peski were shelled from grenade-launchers and heavy machine guns and small arms; heavy machine guns were also used to attack Opytnoye.

On the Lugansk line, 82-mm mortars were fired as well as automatic grenade-launchers at Katerinovka; grenade-launchers and small arms were fired on positions near populated areas.

o Power Out in Five Villages Around Avdeyevka

Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing Pavek Zhebrivsky, head of the Donetsk Military Civilian Administration that five villages around Avdeyevka had their power knocked off from shelling of the Orlovka Kolkhoznaya power transmission line: Orlovka, Lastochkino, Semenovka, Petrovskoye, and Berdychi. 

Zhebrivskiy noted that the Avdeyevka Coke Factory was running on its own generator, as was the city of Avdeyevka itself, with the exception of street lights, which were off. The Ukrainian Joint Center for Coordination and Control planned to raise the issue of securing a ceasefire to enable repairs in the morning.

o Press Conference on Casualties from Mines in Donbass 

The Ukrainian Emergencies Committee, the Donetsk Region, the ATO and the NGO Halo Trust, which works on de-mining, held a press conference today to discuss the effects of mines on the population, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported.

Since the start of the war in the Donbass in 2014, 42 children have been killed by either mines or improper handling of munitions; 109 children have been wounded.

So far this year, 6 people have been killed and 3 injured due to unsafe handling of munitions.

— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick

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