Timeline of the war in Donbass (April 2015–present)

This is a timeline of the War in Donbass, from 1 April 2015. The timeline follows an ongoing conflict between Ukraine and the Novorossyia rebels allegedly supported by Russian troops in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.

1 April
Four Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action over the past 24 hours in the Donbass region. The Ukrainian military reported 13 separatist attacks on Ukrainian troops last night. The militias used automatic weapons and heavy mortars to harass Ukrainian positions in Leninske, Maiorsk and Troitske, in the area south of Artemivsk, and in Avdiivka, west of Donetsk city. Separatist media claimed that the Ukrainian side opened fired upon rebel troops on 31 occasions with small arms, mortars, antiaircraft cannons, armoured fighting vehicles, tanks and artillery. Two militiamen were wounded.

In the course of the day, pro-Russian forces opened fire 18 times across the front using small arms, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, mortars and tanks. The militias also tried to storm the Ukrainian garrison at Zolote, in the area of Bakhmutka road, but were driven back by the defenders.

The Ukrainian Ambassy in Germany announced that a 18-year-old Ukrainian soldier wounded in action died in a Bundeswehr hospital in Ulm during the night of 30 March/31 March.

2 April
No Ukrainian casualties were recorded by the Ukrainian military during the last 24 hours. Separatist militias broke the ceasefire on ten occasions last night firing small arms, rocket propelled grenades, heavy mortars and artillery on Ukrainian positions. The worst situation was reported in Avdiivka, where rebel forces attacked Ukrainian troops with tanks and artillery.

During the day, there were 13 instances of ceasefire violations by pro-Russian troops using small arms, rocket propelled grenades and mortars. The rebels concentrated their efforts on the area of Donetsk city and Mariupol. Opytne and Avdiivka were hit by rocket propelled grenades and mortars. Mortars also landed in Shyrokyne at noon. During the morning, Ukrainian outposts at Maiorsk and Leninske were harassed with small arms fire.

3 April
Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action over the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian military recorded ten violation of the truce by rebel forces last night, among them an assault on Ukrainian positions around Novohorodske, south of Dzerzhinsky, that was repelled.

Pro-Russian militias had opened fire on Ukrainian troops 17 times by evening using small arms, rocket propelled grenades and heavy mortars. Most of the attacks took place west of Donetsk city, where the Ukrainian garrison at Opytne was fired on seven times with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades. The nearby town of Avdiivka was the target of 120 mm mortar rounds. South of Artemivsk, Ukrainian positions at Maiorsk and Luhanske were raked with small arms and machine gun fire. In the southern front, north of Mariupol, Chermalik was shelled with 82 mm mortars. After sunset, the separatist fired automatic grenade launchers and 82 mm mortars on Shyrokyne.

4 April
Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action and other two wounded during the last 24 hours in the Donbass region. All the casualties were the result of a single incident, when a military vehicle hit a landmine during combat operations in Avdiivka. The militias opened fire on 14 occasions on Ukrainian troops last night, including an attempted assault on Ukrainian positions at Krimsky, on the area of Bakhmutka road. The rebels used small arms, rocket propelled grenades, mortars, tanks and artillery. Separatist media accused the Ukrainian security forces of 27 violations of the truce around Horlivka, Spartak, Donetsk airport, Dokuchajevsk and Shyrokyne. The Ukrainian troops used small arms, rocket propelled grenades, heavy mortars, tanks, artillery.

Pro-Russian forces broke the ceasefire 16 times according to Ukrainian officials. The militiamen fired small arms, rocket propelled grenades, mortars.

5 April
During the morning, six Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action in two separate incidents. Four of them died while their vehicle was attacked with a laser-guided anti-tank missile by separatists while crossing a bridge on a truck near Shchastya, in the northern front. The other two died when the SUV they were riding on hit a landmine near Shyrokyne, east of Mariupol. Another serviceman was wounded. Earlier, the Ukrainian military had reported two soldiers wounded in action for the last 24 hours. The night before, separatist troops had broken the ceasefire on 14 occasions using small arms, rocket propelled grenades, armoured fighting vehicles and mortars.

By evening, pro-Russian forces had fired ten times upon Ukrainian troops using small arms, automatic grenade launchers, antitank missiles, heavy mortars and artillery. Most incidents took place around Donetsk city, where the militias are trying to push out the Ukrainian army from Avdiivka, Opytne and Pisky. The separatists pounded Ukrainian positions with heavy artillery at Leninske, near Horlivka, in violation of the Minsk agreement regarding heavy weapons. Nearby Maiorsk was also shelled with 120 mm mortars and automatic grenade launchers. Antitank missiles were launched in Shchastya and Shyrokyne.

6 April
The Ukrainian military confirmed the deaths of six soldiers and injuries in other two over the past 24 hours. Last night, the militias opened fire on 14 occasions on Ukrainian troops using small arms, heavy mortars and antiaircraft fire.

There was an increasing militant activity across the day, with 35 violations of the truce by pro-Russian forces, including a 10-minute engagement between the warring factions at Trehizbenka. The rebels attacked Ukrainian positions in the Donbass with small arms, automatic rocket launchers, antitank rockets, heavy mortars and tanks. A "Right Sector" commander announced that a hand grenade was hurled at a patrol of "Right Sector" volunteers near Mariupol. Two servicemen were wounded. The volunteers didn't pursuit the attackers for fear of an ambush.

7 April
Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action in the past 24 hours. Two soldiers died and another was injured in a non-combat related incident when a hand grenade accidentally exploded in the village of Borivske, south of Sivierodonetsk. The militias fired upon Ukrainian troops on 20 occasions during the last night. The separatist made use of small arms, self-propelled mortars, armoured fighting vehicles and heavy mortars. Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko reported a rebel assault attempt on Shyrokyne and probing actions in the area of Bakhmutka road.

By evening pro-Russian forces had opened fire on 20 occasions on Ukrainian positions. The Ukrainian military reported three engagements with separatist troops in Opytne, Novotoshkivka and Krimsky, where the rebels used armoured fighting vehicles and antiaircraft cannons.

8 April
Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four wounded over the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian military recorded 23 attacks on Ukrainian troops during the past night. The rebels used small arms, mortars, tanks and artillery. Most hostilities occurred around Donetsk city. Mortar and artillery rounds landed in Avdiivka and Pisky, while pro-Russian tanks shot at Ukrainian positions in Opytne. Artillery also pounded the Ukrainian garrison at Maiorsk, in the area of Artemivsk. In Bakhmutka road, separatist fired small arms on an Ukrainian checkpoint at Novotoshkivka.

By evening the militias had broken the cesefire on 18 occasions with small arms, mortars, antitank missiles, antiaircraft fire and armoured fighting vehicles. Ukrainian sources on the ground denounced that the rebels shelled Shyrokyne with 120 mm mortars, banned by the Minsk agreement. Military analyst Dmitri Tymchuk reported a limited tactical pro-Russian offensive in the area of Bakhmutka road, supported by four armoured fighting vehicles and a tank. The assault was driven back by Ukrainian troops.

9 April
Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action over the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian army reported 13 violations of the ceasefire by the militias last night. The rebels used small arms, rocket propelled grenades, heavy mortars and artillery. Pisky, west of Donetsk city, and Berdiansk and Shyrokyne, in the area of Mariupol, where the target of the more intense attacks. Rebel officials said that Ukrainian troops opened fire on separatist-held areas on 70 occasions, killing three militiamen, wounding other five and injuring three civilians.

In the course of the day pro-Russian forces opened fire on 17 occasions on Ukrainian positions with small arms, rocket propelled grenades, mortars, antiaircraft cannons, tanks and artillery. The militias concentrated their efforts on the Ukrainian garrison at Avdiivka, which was pounded with all the available weapons. Mortar rounds landed in nearby Pisky and Dutovsk mining complex. In Vodyane, the separatists harassed the Ukrainian troops with small arms and mortar fire. Small arms were also fired at Ukrainian outposts in Krimsky and Shyrokyne.

10 April
According to the spokesman of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Information-Analytical Center Andriy Lysenko, two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action in the past 24 hours. The militias carried out 21 attacks on Ukrainian troops last night with heavy mortars, tanks and artillery. Separatist media, for their part, claimed that one militant was killed by sniper fire and that the villages of Spartak, east of Donetsk airport and Shyrokyne were heavily shelled by Ukrainian forces. These sources recorded 60 Ukrainian attacks on rebel-held territory over the last 24 hours using small arms, mortars, antitank missiles, antiaircraft cannons, armoured vehicles and tanks.

During the day pro-Russian forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions on 18 occasions. The rebels used small arms, rocket propelled grenades, mortars, antiaircraft artillery and armoured fighting vehicles. The separatists attempted to overrun the Ukrainian garrison at Krimsky, in the area of Bakhmutka road, but were repelled by the defenders. A hostile drone was shot down by Ukrainian troops while flying over Luhansk Oblast.

11 April
The Ukrainian military reported no casualties for the latest 24 hours. The militias carried out 20 attacks on Ukrainian troops in the past night. Separatist sources said that the Ukrainian army broke the truce also on 20 occasions using small arms, heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, heavy mortars and artillery.

By evening pro-Russian forces had fired upon Ukrainian positions 21 times. According to the militias, Ukrainian heavy artillery fired on rebel-held areas at Shyrokyne from the village of Sopino.

12 April
Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action over the past 24 hours. The militias broke the truce 18 times last night. Ukrainian sources reported to have repelled an infiltration attempt near Zhovte, Luhansk Oblast. Separatist media denounced a Ukrainian "tank offensive" around Donetsk city. Deputy minister of defence of the Donetsk Republic, Eduard Basurin, later said that Ukrainian tanks were attempting to broke into Donetsk airport through the settlement of Zhobunki.

The Ukrainian National Guard announced that all the former volunteer fighters in the Donbass area of operations have been amalgamated into the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces.

In the course of the day, while Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter, fighting intesified along the frontlines. Separatist forces attacked Ukrainian positions around Pisky with artillery and tanks. According to Ukrainian sources, one pro-Russian tank was knocked down by the defenders. By evening, the rebels had opened fire 35 times on Ukrainian troops with machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, heavy mortars, tanks and artillery. Close-quarter combat was reported at Avdiivka. In the northern front, Ukrainian outposts at Novotoshkivka and Krimsky were harassed with machine gun fire. Mortar, tank and artillery fire pounded the Ukrainian lines at Pisky, where the headquarters of the battalion "Krim" were hit by self-propelled artillery, resulting in an undeterminated number of wounded. OSCE reported heavy fighting in Shyrokyne, Berdyansk and around Donetsk airport over the weekend, after several days of calm. Separatist authorities claimed that Ukrainian tanks fired 98 shots on pro-Russian positions, most of them at Spartak and Shyrokyne.

13 April
One Ukrainian soldier was killed and other six wounded in the Donbass during the past 24 hours. The militias broke the ceasefire on 18 occasions during the last night. The rebels used automatic weapons, rocket propelled grenades, mortars, tanks and artillery, specially on Ukrainian troops at Pisky, Opytne and Shyrokyne. A two-hour battle was recorded in Trehizbenka, near the ruins of the bridge on the Seversky Donets. The engagement involved the use of small arms and automatic grenade launchers.

Members of the "Azov" battalion told of intense tank and mortar fire on their positions at early morning. Luhansk Governor Hennady Moskal reported a series of tank assaults on checkpoint nº 29, on Bakhmutka road. By evening pro-Russian forces had opened fire on 25 occasions on Ukrainian positions. The rebels focused their efforts on several areas of Donetsk Oblast like Avdiivka, Opytne, Dutovsk mining complex, Hranitne and Shyrokyne. Separatist media accused the Ukrainian army of 66 violations of the ceasefire. According to them, the Ukrainian artillery shelled Spartak, Yasinuvata, Horlivka, Shyrokyne, Naberezhne, Zhabichevo and Donetsk airport.

14 April
Six Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 12 wounded over the past 24 hours. Rebel troops opened fire on 26 occasions upon Ukrainian positions last night using small arms, automatic grenade launchers, heavy mortars, antiaircraft cannons and tanks. The separatists concentrated their efforts around Donetsk city, specially against Avdiivka, Pisky, Opytne and Dutovsk. Officials from the Donetsk Republic claimed that the Ukrainian army violated the ceasefire on 60 occasions, killing one militant and wounding five. According to analyst Dmitry Tymchuk, the militias used T-72 tanks in single tanks incursions against Ukrainian redoubts at Pisky and Vodyane, in a tactic known as "roaming tank". The T-72 were supported by BMP-2s to reach their firing positions, while ZSU-23-2 s antiaircraft cannons and T-64s tanks assisted the tanks' retreat.

By evening pro-Russian had fired on Ukrainian troops 28 times. The militia focused their attacks on Pisky, which was the target of small arms, automatic grenade launchers, heavy mortars and tanks. Ukrainian command and control facilities were hit by antiaircraft and machine gun fire in Avdiivka, while small arms and automatic grenade launchers pounded Shyrokyne, Opytne, Maiorsk, Leninske, Troitske and Dutovsk mining complex. Two Ukrainian checkpoints at Chermalik and Hranitne were also attacked, as well as three Ukrainian outposts near Krimsky. The separatist denounced that members of the "Azov" battalion shelled civilian residences in Shyrokyne in the belief that the houses were the headquarters of the militias in the area.

On a Normandy format meeting in Berlin Sergey Lavrov admitted that ceasefire violations are "unfortunately happening on both sides".

15 April
One Ukrainian soldier was killed and two were injured over the last 24 hours. Rebel militias opened fire on 23 occasions on Ukrainian troops during the past night using small arms, automatic grenade launchers, antitank rockets, antiaircraft cannons, mortars and tanks. A rebel drone was shot down by a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile while flying at an altitude of 3,000 m over Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast.

Pro-Russian forces had launched 24 attacks Ukrainian positions by evening. The militiants used small arms, automatic grenade launchers, antiaircraft cannons, heavy mortars, tanks and self-propelled artillery. Artillery pieces or mortars with a caliber higher than 100 mm should had been removed from the frontlines by the Minsk agreement.

16 April
Six Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the past 24 hours. There were ten attacks carried out by the militias on Ukrainian forces last night. The rebels used small arms, automatic grenade launchers, mortars, tanks and self-propelled artillery.

During the day, the separatists fired on 25 occasions on Ukrainian positions and launched an assault on the village of Marinka, held by Ukrainian troops.

17 April
One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in the last 24 hours. The injury was due to clashes in the proximity of Pisky. Separatist troops broke the ceasefire 15 times last night. The rebels fire machine guns, automatic grenade launchers and heavy mortars. Ukrainian forces shot down a rebel drone over Butkivka, Luhansk Oblast.

In the course of the day pro-Russian militias opened fire on 24 occasions on Ukrainian positions with small arms, automatic grenade launchers, antitank rockets, antiaircraft guns, mortars, tanks and artillery.

18 April
One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in action over the past 24 hours. The militias broke the ceasefire on 31 occasions last night using small arms, rocket propelled grenades, antiaircraft guns, heavy mortars, tanks and artillery. In Pisky, Ukrainian troops returned fire with small arms and mortars.

During the morning, Ukrainian forces repelled a rebel assault on the village of Trehizbenka, Luhansk Oblast. The engagement involved the use of machine guns, antiaircraft cannons and mortars. Several Ukrainian soldiers were wounded. In the afternoon, the separatists attempted another limited offensive on Shyrokyne, but were driven back by the Ukrainian defenders after a four-hour battle. Two Ukrainian servicemen were wounded. By evening, pro-Russian forces had opened fire on 32 occasions on Ukrainian positions.

19 April
One member of the "Azov" battalion was killed and four Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the Donbass during the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian military recorded 50 violations of the truce by the militias on the same period using small arms, heavy mortars, tanks and artillery. The main rebel effort was directed to Talakivka and Shyrokyne, where the separatists rejected an OSCE proposal to demilitarize the area, according to Ukrainian officials. Pisky was shelled three times by pro-Russian tanks. Two Ukrainian checkpoints at Zolote and Maiorsk were harassed with small arms and mortar fire. Separatist media claimed that Ukrainian forces opened fire on rebel positions on 59 occasions with small arms, rocket propelled grenades, mortars, armoured fighting vehicles, tanks and artillery. The Ukrainian army targeted Shyrokyne, Horlivka, Zhabichevo, Spartak and Donetsk airport.

The number of rebel attacks decreased by evening, with only eight incidents reported by the Ukrainian military. The militias used small arms, automatic grenade launchers and heavy mortars. The bulk of the attacks took place around Shyrokyne and Opytne. In the northern front, the town of Popasna received a 120 mm mortar barrage, a weapon banned by the Minsk agreement. Other ceasefire violations occurred in Pisky and Avdiivka, where a Ukrainian observation point was the target of machine gun fire.