Militants violate ceasefire 12 times over past 24 hours

The Russia-backed separatists opened provocative fire several times in the direction of the Ukrainian troops. The militants used guns on infantry fighting vehicles, small arms and rocket-propelled grenades against the positions of the Ukrainian military near the towns Avdiyivka, Artemivsk, and others. The separatists violated the ceasefire 12 times over the past 12 hours, according to the report on Monday morning. As we have reported, a truce agreement reached in Minsk in February has been regularly violated, but Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Saturday that the deal had been observed for the first time for an entire week. Meanwhile, two Ukrainian servicemen were injured in the conflict area in past 24 hours, spokesman for the Presidential Administration on army operation Andriy Lysenko said.