Militants step up attacks along demarcation line in eastern Ukraine

"The militants stepped up shelling along the entire demarcation line in the late afternoon and launched 44 attacks on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," reads the statement. The Russian mercenaries used 82mm mortars to shell the Ukrainian positions near Pisky (12km north-west of Donetsk) and Opytne (11.5km north-west of Donetsk) while 82mm and 120mm mortars were used to fire at the positions near Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk). The militants also used grenade launchers and machine guns to shell Ukrainian strongholds near Novhorodske (34km north of Donetsk), Zaitseve (67km north-north-east of Donetsk), Mayorske (45km north of Donetsk), Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk) and Verkhniotoretske (22km north-east of Donetsk).