Timeline of the war in Donbass (January 2020)



This is a timeline of the War in Donbass, from 1 September 2018. The timeline follows an ongoing conflict between Ukraine and anti-government pro-Russian separatists supported by Russia in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.

1 January
According to the information provided by the spokesman of the Ukrainian operational headquarters in the morning, pro-Russian troops had opened fire on five occasions on Ukrainian positions on the last day of 2019. Pro-Russian authorities from Donetsk city reported two Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in two locations using small arms, grenade launchers and mortars. No violations of the truce were reported by pro-Russian sources from the self-proclaimed Luhansk Peope's Republic.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces HQ reported two violations of the ceasefire by evening. By the end of the day a total of three incidents were registered; one Ukrainian soldier was wounded in action. The attacks occurred in the northern front, where Ukrainian positions at Novoluhanske and Orikhove were hit by small arms fire, heavy machine guns and different types of grenades and rockets.

2 January
The Ukrainian operational headquarters reported that pro-Russian forces had broken the ceasefire three times on 1 January. Separatist authorities at Donetsk city recorded four Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in three locations using 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles and 120 mm mortars.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces HQ reported two ceasefire violations by evening. By the end of the day, a total of four incidents were recorded.. Pro-Russian forces fired small arms, heavy machine guns and different types of grenades and rockets at ukrainian positions near Novotroitske, in the eastern area of operations, and Nikolaevka, Orikhove and Novoluhanske, in the northern front. .Pro-Russian officials at Donetsk city told the press that Ukrainiian forces engaged pro-Russian positions at Oleksandrivka, in the surroundings of Donetsk city, and Dolomitne, in the area of Horlivka.

3 January
According to the information provided by the spokesman of the Ukrainian operational headquarters in the morning, pro-Russian troops had opened fire on four occasions on Ukrainian positions the previous day. Pro-Russian authorities at Donetsk city recorded three Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in two locations using small arms, heavy machine guns and 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces HQ said that pro-Russian forces had broken the ceasefire on two occasions by evening. A total of three incidents were reported by the end of the day. Pro-Russian forces fired upon Ukrainian positions at Vasilyevka, in the eastern front, and Zaitseve and Novoluhanske, in the northern area of operations using infantry weapons and different grenade-launcher systems. Pro-Russian authorities from Donetsk city recorded two Ukrainian violations of the truce at Staromykhailivka, in the environs of Donetsk city, and Zaitseve, in the area of Horlivka.

4 January
According to the information provided by the spokesman of the ATO HQ there were three attacks on Ukrainian positions the previous day. Pro-Russian officials at Donetsk city reported two Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in two locations using heavy machine guns and 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles. .

The Ukrainian Joint Forces HQ reported one violation of the ceasefire by evening. A total of four incidents were reported by the end of the day. Pro-Russian forces engaged Ukrainian positions at Avdiivka, Verkhnyotoretske and Vodiane, in the eastern operational area, and Novoluhanske, in the northern front, using small arms, heavy machine guns and different grenade-launcher systems. Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded by the explosion of an improvised explosive device. Pro-Russian officials at Donetsk city recorded three incidents through the day, all of them around Donetsk city. Pro-Russian troops at Oleksandrivka, Kashtanove and Volvo Center received firefrominfantry weapons and 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles.

5 January
According to the information provided by the spokesman of the Ukrainian operational headquarters in the morning, pro-Russian troops had launched four attacks on Ukrainian positions the previous day.. Pro-Russian sources at Donetsk city recorded three Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in three locations using small arms, heavy machine guns and 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces HQ reported two ceasefire violations by evening. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another wounded by a landmine blast while riding on a GAZ-66 truck near Vilnyi, in the area of Horlivka, Five incidents were reported by Ukrainian sources by the end of the day, and another soldier was killed. In the eastern area of operations, Vodiane was hit by 82 mm mortar fire, while Pavlopil received fire from heavy machine guns. In the northern.front, Ukrainian troops at Krymske were harassed by enemy snipers. Pro-Russian officials reported that Ukrainian forces engaged their forces at Trudivske, in the outskirts of Donetsk city, Gagarin mining complex, in the area of Horlivka, and, in the region of Mariupol, Pikuzy and Sakhanka. In the main incidents, Pikuzy was shelled with 120 mm mortars, while Gagarin and Sakhanka were hit by anti-tank rockets.

6 January
The headquarters of the Ukrainian Joint Forces told the press that pro-Russian forces had broken the ceasefire on five occasions on the past day. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action. Pro-Russian authorities at Donetsk city recorded five Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in four locations using small arms, heavy machine guns, anti-tank rocket launchers, 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles and 120 mm mortars.

Officials from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's republic reported by evening that Ukrainian BMP-1 armoured vehicles engaged pro-Russian positions at Zholobok. Ukrainian sources recorded five incidents throughout the day. In the eastern area of operations, Ukrainian positions at Pisky were repeatedly targeted with small arms, heavy machine guns and anti-tank rocket launchers. In the northern front, several attacks were launched several attacks on Ukrainian redoubts at Krymske using heavy machine guns, grenade launchers and 82 mm mortars.

7 January
According to the information provided by the spokesman of the Ukrainian operational headquarters in the morning, pro-Russian troops had launched five attacks on Ukrainian positions the previous day; two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded. No Ukrainian violations of the truce were registered by pro-Russian authorities at Donetsk city. Sources from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic confirmed that BMP-1 armoured vehicles attacked Zholobok the previous day.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces HQ reported one violation of the ceasefire by evening. Later in the day, two incidents were reported, both of them at Vasilyevka, in the eastern area of operations, when pro-Russian troops fired infantry weapons and grenade launchers at Ukrainian positions in the area. Pro-Russian authorities at Donetsk city reported that pro-Russian positions around Spartak received fire from 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles.

8 January
The headquarters of the Ukrainian Joint Forces told the press that pro-Russian forces had broken the ceasefire two times on the past day. Pro-Russian sources at Donetsk city recorded two Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in two locations using small arms, heavy machine guns, anti-tank rocket launchers and 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles. No incidents were reported by local authorities in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces operational headquarters said that pro-Russian forces had broken the ceasefire on two occasions by evening. Five incidents were reported by the end of the day. In the eastern front, Lebedinske became the target of small arms and 120 mm mortars. In the northern front, Ukrainian positions at Vilnyi were pounded with 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles, 120 mm mortars and 122 mm self-propelled artillery. Novoluhanske and Novozvanivka were hit by small arms fire and anti-tank rockets. Pro-Russian authorities at Donetsk city told the press that pro-Russian positions were attacked in a number of occasions throughout the day. Trudivske and Sakhanka were hit by 73 mm anti-tank rounds, while Gagarin received anti-tank rocket fire. Local officials from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic recorded two Ukrainian violations of the truce within the republic boundaries. Ukrainian BMP-1 armoured vehicles from Krymske launched an attack on pro-Russian positions at Sentianivka supported by anti-tank rocket launchers, while Holubovske came under the combined fire of 82 mm and 120 mm mortars.

9 January
The headquarters of the Ukrainian Joint Forces told the press that pro-Russian forces had broken the ceasefire five times on 8 January; three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded. Pro-Russian officials at Donetsk city reported four Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in four locations using small arms, heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, anti-tank rocket launchers and 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles. Authorities from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic confirmed two Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire on 8 January.

The Ukrainian Joint Forces HQ reported one violation of the ceasefire by evening.. Six incidents were reported at the end of the day. In the eastern area of operations, Krasnohorivka, Pavlopil, Pisky, Nevelske and Vodiane, and Vilnyi, in the northern front, received fire from infantry weapons, automatic grenade launchers, anti-tank grenade launchers and anti-tank recoilless rifles. Pro-Russian officials at Donetsk city recorded several attacks by Ukrainian forces on their positions by evening. Most incidents occurred in Volvo Center, a industrial area west of Donetsk city that came under fire from small arms, heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, antitank-recoilless rifles and 82 mm mortars. Sakhanka, in the region of Mariupol, was hit by an 82 mm mortar barrage.

10 January
According to the information provided by the spokesman of the Ukrainian operational headquarters in the morning, pro-Russian troops had launched six attacks on Ukrainian positions the previous day. One Ukrainian soldier was killed in action and another wounded. Pro-Russian authorities at Donetsk city recorded five Ukrainian violations of the ceasefire in two locations using small arms, heavy machine guns,, automatic grenade launchers, 73 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles and 82 mm mortars.