Following the refusal of Russian-backed insurgents to lay down their arms or cooperate in a unilateral ceasefire, President Petro Poroshenko announced the resumption of the Anti-Terrorist Operation of the Armed Forces & National Guard on late on June 30.
We will attack and we will liberate our land.
– President Petro Poroshenko
Since July 1 the campaign has been ongoing (you can follow our Liveblog series here). The assault by the Armed Forces has concentrated itself in air strikes and artillery, and sources within ATO command have estimated combined losses to pro-Russian forces the past two days to exceed 600, while losses to Ukrainian forces are claimed to be minimal. Over 100 military attacks were recorded on Wednesday in the renewed offensive.
Gains in Donetsk region have been steady with several towns liberated and fighting reaching Donetsk city itself. Civilian casualties have so far been minimal and unattributed. A flashpoint in the conflict, Sloviansk, has been increasingly isolated and cutoff from resources, and damage to the power grid has left the city in a reported state of blackout.
In Luhansk, tanks, rocket launchers, and surface-to-air systems continue to pour into the country while other groups of terrorists have captured gas compressor station, and a military outpost in the north of the region was destroyed under heavy shelling.
