Donbas militants are fully responsible for the escalation of hostilities in the Svitlodarsk bulge, says the representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbass, Leonid Kuchma.
"The Ukrainian side is angered by a flagrant violation of the Minsk agreements by Donbas separatists. The block of security-related issues remains central, and it still not being implemented," Kuchma's press secretary Darka Olifer quoted Kuchma as saying in a Facebook statement.
"The representatives of [militant-held] areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions bear full responsibility for what happened in the Svitlodarsk bulge area, for all those killed and wounded, for the escalation of the situation."
On Sunday, 18 December the Russian-backed militants tried to force the Ukrainian military from their positions in the area of the town of Svitlodarsk. During the enemy offensive, five ATO troops we killed in action, six were wounded, and 10 were reported shell-shocked or injured.
The terrorists shelled the positions of governmental troops from populated areas of Debaltsevo Kalynivka and Vuhlehirsk in an attempt to advance in the direction of Luhanske (Donetsk region), and the capture of the strategically important objects.
The situation in the Svitlodarsk area is reportedly calm during the day .