The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are planning to interrupt transport links between Luhansk and Donetsk in the area of the Svetlodarskaya Bulge. This was announced on February 18 by the official representative of the People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) Ivan Filiponenko.
“According to an agent source, the enemy chose this area as the direction of the main attack of the Sever operational-tactical group in order to cut through our defenses, block transport links between the republics and develop an offensive deep into our defense along the flanks,” Filiponenko said in a statement. Telegram channel People’s Militia of the LPR.
Also on Friday, Filiponenko said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had violated the ceasefire eight times since the beginning of the current day.
Earlier that day, it became known that traffic on the Gorlovka-Donetsk highway in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) was blocked due to shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
At the same time, the DPR representative office at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the ceasefire regime reported that Ukrainian security forces had fired 68 mines and shells on the territory of the DPR since the beginning of the day. It was clarified that from 5:30 to 9:00 (coincides with Moscow time) shelling was recorded from the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of the settlements of Novolaspa, Gorlovka, Dzerzhinskoye, Dolomitnoye and Verkhnetoretskoye.
According to the latest data, the situation on the line of contact in Donbass has escalated significantly. On the morning of February 17, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including heavy weapons. In the village of Nikolaevka, a gas pipeline was damaged and a power line was interrupted.
Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the intra-Ukrainian conflict. The issues of its settlement are being discussed in the Minsk and Normandy formats.
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