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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Both sides in this year old war continue to blame the other for ceasefire violations over the past 48 hours, according to official and Russian language news accounts.
Artillery fire has been reported Monday in western Donetsk suburbs, Shirokino, which is near the Sea of Azov and in Gorlovka, north of Donetsk city. Additionally, firefights with small arms have been reported as well.
According to a new release posted on its website, the defense ministry of Donetsk said that ceasefire violations over the previous 24 hours have taken place 15 times, in locations such as the western Donetsk city sectors of Spartak, Oktyabrskiy district and at the airport. The report said that 82mm and 120mm mortars were used as well as 125mm tank guns.
Ukrainian news report say that rebels have been conducting infantry attacks on Peski and in Avdievka over the same time period. According to a news account in tsensor.net, elements of the Ukrainian 95rd Independent Airborne brigade were preparing to fight off more rebel infantry attacks on Monday. According to the report, rebel forces have been probing into the area, but more attacks have not materialized. Rebel forces launched an infantry attack on Avdievka last Thursday, but were driven back by the Ukrainians.
Another news account posted on korrespondent.net said that rebel forces have violated the ceasefire more than 70 times including in Marinka and Krasnogorovka using 82mm and 120mm mortars on Saturday. Artillery fire on Ukrainian positions also were recorded in Opytnoye and in Avdievka.
According to Doentsk ministry of defense spokesman Lt. Colonel Eduard Basurin, Ukrainian forces have reinforced their positions near Marinka with a total of six tanks. He also is quoted as saying eight 122m self propelled howitzers were found nearby at Ostroye.
On Monday, a group with the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observed several violations of the ceasefire near the grounds of the Donetsk airport, a total of 139 "explosions", not counting small arms fire, according to a separate news account in korrespondent.net.
Ukrainian military units as well as rebel units hold parts of the Donetsk airport area.
Rebel official reports say that Ukrainian artillery struck western residential regions of Gorlovka starting at 1900 hrs Monday night (Moscow time) and continuing for several hours. The report characterized the artillery attacks as "massive."
In and near Shirokino
Saturday, according to a korrespondent.net news account, rebel forces fired artillery on Ukrainian positions near Mariupol, using mortars.
More recently, according to a separate news account in korrespodent.net, quoting spokesman for the Ukrainian volunteer "Azov" Regiment, Yaroslav Chepurnoy, rebel artillery hit Ukrainian targets in several towns around Shirokino and Mariupol, using 122mm rocket artillery. One position, a Ukrainian observation post in Berdyansk was redeployed due to the intense artillery fire, contrary to reports by the OSCE that that position had been abandoned.
Conflicting reports from the OSCE and from Ukrainian sources have enmerged. Ukrainian news sources say that rebel artillery hit targets in Starognatovki and Granitnoye Monday starting at around 0900 hrs, using 122mm self propelled tube artillery.
Sunday rebel artillery struck Ukrainian positions in Shirokino and in Starognatovki using 82mm and 120 mm mortars, small arms fire and RPG fire.
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.
