Ukrainian and separatist forces have recorded a total of 100 ceasefire violations in the past 24 hours.
Kiev’s military spokesperson says rebels fired on their positions 49 times, including artillery strikes against Berdyans'ke, a town located just 16 miles east of Mariupol.
Separatists, meanwhile, counted 51 attacks by Kiev’s troops, twice as many as the day before. Authorities from the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic also say there were 23 different strikes against separatist positions at the Donetsk airport.
“From the evening of February 19 until the early morning hours of February 20, the [separatists’] main attacks focused on residential areas. Multiple rocket launchers twice shelled the cities of Avdiivka and Tonen'ke. The town of Kurakhove was also hit with a grad missile,” a Ukrainian military spokesperson said.
Beginning at midnight on February 15, a ceasefire took effect in eastern Ukraine. The agreement—signed in Minsk on February 12 after tense negotiations between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France—calls for a complete ceasefire and the gradual withdrawal of heavy weapons from forward positions.
On February 18, separatists captured the city of Debaltseve, after a major offensive. According to official figures from Kiev, 13 Ukrainian soldiers died in the rebel onslaught, though spokespeople for the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic claim dozens were killed and hundreds were taken captive.
On February 19, the Ukrainian military said rebels shelled the town of Shyrokyne, about 15 miles east of Mariupol.