Russian backed separatists and Ukrainian military units continue to exchange small arms and artillery fire in several regions in southeastern Ukraine, according to rebel and Ukrainian media news accounts.
Donetsk Ministry of Defense spokesman Lt. Colonel Eduard Basurin said Tuesday that Ukrainian forces hit rebel positions in Shirokino and in the western suburbs of Donetsk city, using tank gunfire as well as heavy artillery fire including 122mm and 152mm tube artillery.
Ukrainians hit targets in Spartak and the Oktyabrsky district of Donetsk, according to Colonel Basurin. Basurin mentioned in his remarks that rebel forces did not respond to Ukrainian gunfire.
Ukrainian ministry of defense spokesman Andrei Lysenko said Tuesday, as reported on tsensor.net, that rebel forces fired on Ukrainian forces at Opytnoye using 152mm and 122mm tube artillery, as well as 120mm mortars.
Rebel artillery also hit Ukrainian positions at Peski, Avdievka and Berdyansk, according to Lysenko.
Ukrainian military leaders say that the rebels continue reinforcing their positions with additional troops, and that rebel probes increased in number over the previous 24 hours.
According to a separate report on tsensot.net, rebel artillery pounded Ukrainian targets in Shirokino and Mariupol, mostly using heavy mortars. Infantry fights were nearly constant in Shirokino.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.