Wednesday results in the occupied territories of Donbas. The highlights
In the area of the Joint Forces Operation on March 17, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire five times, - the JFO headquarters reported. The enemy opened fire from under-barrel grenade launchers not far from the village of Novotoshkivske, and from heavy anti-tank grenade launchers - near Svitlodarsk and Pisky. The enemy fired at the positions of the Ukrainian military in the area of the settlement of Hnutove from automatic heavy-duty grenade launchers and heavy machine guns, and also from hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers - in the suburbs of the village of Luhanske. There are no combat losses among the Ukrainian defenders.
Leader of the so-called "LNR" Leonid Pasechnik openly handed over five new Russian-made UAZ Patriot off-roaders to the "people's militia" militants. This was reported by separatist media. At the "solemn ceremony" of handing over the off-road vehicles to the "LNR" militants, it was announced that Russian off-road vehicles would be used on the contact line "in the near future". Similar military vehicles of Russian production were handed over to the occupation forces in the uncontrolled territory of Donetsk oblast on the eve.
Luhansk militant Alexander Konkin admitted that the so-called "referendum" in the Donbas in 2014 was carried out with the use of weapons. He told this in an interview with one of the anti-Ukrainian video channels. "When the referendum was held… DTEK haі ascendancy over Rovenky - everything is Akhmetov's… All the mines began to tell that their premises were closed, they did not have ballot boxes… Everyone was gathered in the executive committee's assembly hall, a lawyer immediately came from DTEK. I say: "I understand that this is your salary and I propose a compromise solution: here is a machine gun, here I am, an evil uncle, a guy with a gun – all questions to me… OK, whom it does not suit – we will beat! That is all? OK! "- the militant told about the methods of "pre-election campaigning".
An unknown "investor" in occupied Donetsk promises to revive the "nationalized" Donetsk Metallurgical Plant and pay off wage arrears in 9 months. This was written in separatist segment of social networks. A local blogger reported that the situation at the enterprise, which did not pay wages and dismissed specialists on a regular basis, suddenly "improved" dramatically. "Today, the DMP hosted a meeting of the labor collective with a new investor. The enterprise has been paying stable salaries for two months, recruitment of skilled workers has resumed. A three-year development program has been developed for the enterprise, which provides for overhaul of two blast furnaces, reconstruction of other production facilities and a salary increase schedule. Planned investments are about $135 million. The launch of steel smelting and a complete reconstruction of the rolling mill In the future - the launch of steel melting and a complete reconstruction of the rolling mill is planned in the long run", - the message said. "The main question of the plant workers concerned the payment of arrears to VTS on salaries for 9 months. The new investor takes over the debt of $584 thousand, the republican authorities will knock out the rest of VTS", - the blogger added.
328 new cases of coronavirus infection were confirmed in the occupied areas of Donetsk oblast (CADO) over the day. This was reported by the so-called "Ministry of Health of the DNR". In addition, seven deaths have been reported. In total, as of March 17, CADO confirmed: 27 047 cases of the disease, 5535 patients are being treated, 2144 people died. The mortality rate is still off scale - 8%. The occupiers also revealed 87 cases of "usual" pneumonia over the day, of which 68 patients were hospitalized. A total of 946 patients with pneumonia are being treated, of which 464 are on oxygen support (+24 over the day).
Doctors registered 3397 cases of coronavirus infection in the occupied Luhansk region. This was said in the report of the so-called "Ministry of Health of the LPR". Eight more deaths have also been reported over the past day.
Shocks of earthquake resumed in occupied Makiivka, in the village of Obyednane (Sovetsky district). Residents of the village wrote this in social networks. They linked the newly appeared water hammer to the start of longwall face development at the Kalynivska-Skhidna mine. "Obyednane, do you already feel the new longwall face at the Kalynivska mine? Magnitude 2.0 on the Richter scale", "We feel it! The second time was already this night! Until that day, two or three days ago, there was another one at five o'clock in the evening and, as it seemed to me, more powerful than tonight", - the residents of Makiivka wrote. They are also discussing this: "Most likely, these are really water hammers, underground water is rising en masse in the spring", "It was necessary to defend the mines and waterways, and the whole Makiivka will soon be shaken. The mine cannot cope with water pumping and water hammers are shaking the earth", "They want to repeat the Klevazh project. There are also ironic comments: "The earth is already shaking from the Russian world", "These are cave trolls who are rowdy","Ukes are penetrating underground".
A tram burned down in occupied Donetsk. Eyewitnesses wrote this in social networks. The incident took place near the Mine No.12/18 stop in the Proletarskyi district. It is not yet known about the details of the incident and whether there are victims. Later, the occupation district "administration of the DNR" reported that tram route No.15 had burned down. There were no passengers in the carriage at the time of the incident, no one was injured.
Workers of Luganskgaz in occupied Luhansk are eliminating the consequences of the accident, as a result of which 13.5 thousand subscribers in the eastern part of the city were left without heating, separatist media wrote. It was reported that the pipe leak occurred on an underground heating main with a diameter of 630 mm in the area of the Volkov quarter. As a result, more than 13.5 thousand subscribers were temporarily disconnected from the heat supply system. The coolant delivery was stopped in residential buildings in the Volkov, Gagarin, Komarov and Levchenko quarters, along the streets of 30 years of Victory, Tukhachiovskogo, Uchebnaya, as well as in 14 educational institutions.