MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Ukraine’s army lost 60 troops in Donbas on February 16, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on Monday, adding that DPR militias lost 2 men and 21 were wounded.
He said the most difficult situation was around Debaltseve.
"During the day, Ukrainian troops shelled DPR army’s positions in Logvinovo and nearby localities from Lugansky and Debaltseve," he said. "On separate occasions, we were forced to fire back at the Ukrainian artillery’s positions, from where shelling was opened. Moreover, Ukrainian troops never stopped gun and mortar fire around Debaltseve."
He said that in these skirmishes Ukrainian troops lost two tanks, seven infantry carriers and armored vehicles, five artillery systems, six cars. Sixty Ukrainian servicemen were killed.
DPR militias over the same period lost three infantry carriers. Two militias were killed and 21 were wounded.
- Ceasefire regime in eastern Ukraine generally observed in first 18 hours — OSCE mission
- Kiev troops don’t observe ceasefire, not preparing to pull out heavy weapons — DPR
- Over 5,600 people killed in conflict in eastern Ukraine — UN
- Merkel says situation in east Ukraine unstable, namely due to Debaltsevo crisis
- Donetsk republic says no weaponry withdrawal until Kiev stops shellings
Latest peace agreements
At Minsk talks on Ukraine crisis settlement leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine on February 11-12 negotiated a package of measures to implement the Minsk agreements adopted in September. The first point of the document sets condition for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire beginning at 00:00 hours (Kiev time) on February 15, 2015.
The package of measures envisages pullback of all heavy weapons by both parties to locations equidistant from the disengagement line in order to create a security zone at least 50 kilometers wide for artillery systems with a caliber of 100 mm or more, a zone of security 70 kilometers wide for multiple rocket launchers and a zone 140 kilometers wide for multiple rocket launchers Tornado-S, Uragan and Smerch and the tactical rocket systems Tochka-U.
The final document says that the Ukrainian troops are to be pulled back away from the current line of engagement and the militias of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, from the engagement line set by the Minsk Memorandum of September 19, 2014.
Ceasefire came into effect from February 15.