In the area of the Joint Forces Operation on March 4, four violations of the ceasefire by the armed formations of the Russian Federation were recorded. The enemy fired using a 120-mm mortar near Vodiane not far from Donetsk. The occupiers fired at our positions from large-caliber machine guns not far from Pisky. The enemy made several aimed attacks towards the Ukrainian positions from a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher near Pavlopil. In addition, the passage of the enemy UAV was recorded crossing the demarcation line. Thanks to the skillful actions of our soldiers, the drone was suppressed in time by means of electronic warfare (EW). There are no combat losses among the Joint Forces personnel as a result of the enemy shelling.
The "DNR" leader confirmed statement of the so-called "people's militia" about the intention to be the first to open fire on Ukrainian positions. He said this on the air of one of the Russian channels. "We need preventive measures. We are now forced to restrain ourselves, having clenched our teeth, so as not to escalate the escalation… What is meant by preventive measures, I cannot say everything on the air. But we can definitely say that we will not give and will not allow… to shell our cities and regions with impunity", - the leader stated. As reported, occupation authorities of the "DNR" allowed on Wednesday their armed formations to open "preemptive" fire on Ukrainian positions.
Authorities of the so-called "DNR" intend to let civilians from the occupation zone through the demarcation line on special passes after fingerprinting. This was reported by the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group in the Telegram channel. The message predicts that the "DNR" occupiers are going to adopt the so-called "law" on crossing the demarcation line in the near future, according to which a certain permitting procedure will be introduced for the departure of persons from CADO to the territory controlled by Ukraine. If this "law" is adopted, crossing the demarcation line will become possible only if there is a pass issued by the "DNR internal affairs bodies" for a period of 6 months. Prerequisites for the issuance of such a pass are the passage of dactyloscopy registration by civilians, photographing and checking their personal communication tools. The vehicle will also need to have a pass.
188 new cases of coronavirus infection were detected in the occupied areas of Donetsk oblast over the day. This was reported by the so-called "Ministry of Health of the DNR". In addition, eight deaths have been reported. In total, as of March 4, there are 24 822 confirmed cases of the disease in CADO, 5 855 patients are being treated, 2 061 people have died. The mortality rate is more than eight percent, which is incomparably higher than in the free territory of Ukraine and in the world. The occupiers also revealed 72 cases of "usual" pneumonia over the day, of which 52 patients were hospitalized. In total, 862 patients with "usual" pneumonia are being treated, of which 452 are on oxygen support (+12 over the day).
Founder of the terrorist Vostok Battalion Alexander Khodakovsky wants to force the CADO businessmen to put the bomb shelters in order. He wrote this on social networks. According to him, this intention has already begun to be implemented. "We control the preparation of bomb shelter together with socially responsible business and give praise to the Soviet Union for leaving us such a legacy. I suggest that the republic's authorities support our initiative and assign the bomb shelters to business leaders - let them show their consciousness and take the trouble to put them in order, since the state has no money for this", - Khodakovsky suggested.
Occupation forces of the "DNR" are trying to justify their raid on the contact line by "saving children". This followed from the message of the so-called "MIA of the republic". According to local propagandists, the crime scene investigation team of the "DNR MIA" was sent "to detect and evacuate a group of children between the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the DNR people's militia department". Occupation authorities assured that the "policemen" were fired upon by aimed sniper fire, "as a result of which a junior police sergeant V.Voina was mortally wounded". The message of the fake "MIA" said that the raid group was forced to interrupt "the ongoing activities, the children were not evacuated". "It is important to note that such incidents involving the infiltration of children directly onto the line of military demarcation from the territory temporarily not under the control of the DNR have occurred repeatedly and were suppressed by the DNR MIA officers", - the "MIA" stated. According to the version of the occupiers, it turns out that the "crime scene investigation team" intended to evacuate a certain "group of children" from free Ukraine to the CADO territory.