The soldiers were killed on 7th March, close to the town of Avdiyivka, following the shelling carried out with the 120 mm mortars, weaponry which has been expressly banned by the Minsk memorandums. The Kiev authorities note that this constitutes a proof of increased intensity of the fights in the Eastern Ukraine.

According to the official information available, the Ukrainians were attacked 52 times throughout the last 24 hours. Most of the attacks took place in Donetsk (37), Mariupol (10) and Luhansk (5).

150 mortar grenades and 22 artillery shells are said to have fallen on the Ukrainian positions. Machine gun fire and sniper activity were also a part of the engagements that were recorded.