Ukraine says it may use artillery in response to militants’ massive attacks

Ukraine has warned the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine that the Ukrainian army may start using artillery systems in response to militants' massive attacks, press secretary of the Ukrainian General Staff Vladyslav Selezniov told Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.

"Since 20:00 Kyiv time last night, militants had been firing near the villages of Starohnativka and Chermalyk in the south of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone. They were firing from 120mm-caliber mortars and 152mm-caliber self-propelled artillery systems. Thought, it became quiet as of 23:46, the situation remains tense," Selezniov said.

"In keeping with the established procedure, we've informed the OSCE SMM, the OSCE's Kyiv office, our Western partners through [the channels of] the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that militants continue violating the Minsk agreements, therefore we reserve the right to use artillery systems when our positions are attacked," he added.

He noted that the situation remains under control of the ATO headquarters and the headquarters in the sector.

Selezniov recalled that during the day on Monday the Russian-backed fighters were shelling the southern area of Donetsk region – Mykolaivka, Starohnativka, Bohdanivka, Novotroitske, Novohryhorivka, Hranitne, and Chermalyk. The village of Shyrokyne near the Ukrainian-controlled city of Mariupol was under small arms fire.

As UNIAN reported earlier, at 21:50 Kyiv time on August 10, Russian-backed militants launched intensive shelling of the positions of the 72nd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, using 152mm-caliber artillery systems.