Number of shelling incidents in Donbas drops to lowest in 18 months – Poltorak

The number of attacks on Ukrainian army positions has dropped to its lowest in 18 months, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said.

"We now have two to four attacks [a day], which is definitely the least number of shelling incidents in the past 18 months, and, as a rule, small arms are applied. The use of 80mm mortars is extremely rare," Poltorak told reporters before a government meeting on Tuesday.

He confirmed the deaths of two servicemen in the Luhansk region but said they did not fall victim to shelling. "This was an act of a sabotage-and-reconnaissance group," he said.

The minister confirmed that the video of an interrogation shown by the media actually featured three Ukrainian paratroopers of the 79th separate airmobile brigade who disappeared on Monday (on the border with Crimea). "In truth, Russia can shoot any video and show it on television. After all circumstances are established, we will make a relevant decision on these people [...] They will naturally be punished if they left their unit on their own," Poltorak said.

In turn, Ukrainian Presidential Administration spokesman for the army operation Oleksandr Motuzianyk said that one serviceman was killed and another two were injured in Donbas on Monday. "A hostile group of saboteurs crossed the Siversky Donets River on Monday afternoon. The saboteurs tried to pass by our stronghold and move inside our territory, but our servicemen gave a fitting rebuff to the enemy and the group retreated. Regretfully, we lost a solider in that battle and another two were injured. We had no casualties in other sections of the front," he said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

The Donbas situation is practically peaceful, the spokesman said. "All was quiet yesterday in the Luhansk sector, along the contact line from Stanytsia Luhanska and Svitlodarsk. One provocation was staged in the Donetsk sector near Mayorsk, small arms were being fired for approximately 20 minutes. The truce was observed yesterday on other outskirts of Horlivka and near Yasynuvata," he said.

Donetsk airport was absolutely quiet for the first time since May 26, 2014. Monday was a quiet day in the Mariupol sector, as well, Motuzianyk said.

One mortar attack was observed in Maryinka on Monday evening. The gunfire was coming from the Donetsk Petrovsky district.