Security guarantees, land mines delay repairs on Donetsk water plant

The Ukrainian held town of Avdievka reports that its water supply is reaching critical levels, as Ukrainian and Russian backed rebels negotiate repairs on the Avdievka water filtrations,plant according to Russian language news accounts.

The Avdievka water filtration plant has been out of operation since February 24th when worker left the facility following artillery attacks, according to rebel charges, by Ukrainian forces.  Ukrainians have countered with charges that rebel artillery has hit critical electrical infrastructure used to deliver water to the Ukrainian side of the line.

Both sides are under threat of water shortages, although the rebel side has yet to remark on the crisis.

At the moment negotiations have stalled between the two warring factions over security guarantees.  Ukrainian say that rebels have fired mortar launched land mines near the water plant.  Ukrainians also has mines in the area and have offered to remove those explosives, just as long as rebels do not fire onto the area.

This 30 month war has built up a surplus of distrust between the two sides, especially now in the wake of the Ukrainian national government imposition of  an economic blockade on both Donetsk and Lugansk.  The governments of Donetsk and Lugansk have responded that they will seize heavy industrial assets,  effectively "nationalizing" those businesses.

Rebel forces have been firing artillery and mortars on Ukrainian positions over the last 24 hours.  Mortar fire has been reported on Ukrainian positions near the coastal city of Mariupol, including at Gnutovo, Shirokino, Pavlopovo and Vodyanoye.  Ukrainians reported that 122mm artillery hit Ukrainian positions at Vodyanoye.

Rebel 152mm artillery hit Ukrainian positions near Donetsk city, including at Luganskoye and Troitskoye. Both 120mm and 82mm mortar fire was reported in the Donetsk city area including at Peski, Zaitsevo, Troitskoye, Novoluganskoye, Kamenka, Avdievka and Opytnoye.

Ukrainian news accounts also report that one unidentified Ukrainian soldier was killed and seven more were wounded, five of them in the shelling at Butovka mine.

The rebel ministry of defense in Donetsk reported that Ukrainian artillery pounded Yasinovataya, Vasilevka and Mineralevka for four hours on Wednesday, knocking out power in Vasilevka.  The report does not specify what kind of artillery was used in the attack.  Yasinovataya and surrounding areas sit astride the main road between Donetsk and Gorlovka, to the north, and has been in contest between the two sides for nearly 18 months.

Rebels also  claim that Ukrainian forces have fired on their positions more than 1,700 times, but that total includes small arms fire.

In Dokuchaevsk, near The Russian border on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian artillery damaged two residential buildings.  Two more residential buildings were damaged by Ukrainian artillery fire in the northern Donetsk town of Gorlovka.

Ukrainian artillery fire also hit targets in western Donetsk city, and in Zhelznaya Balka,  Mikailovka, Zaitsevo, Ozeryanovka and Verkhnetoretskoye.

In the south, near the Mariupol region, Ukrainian artillery hit rebel held locations at Sakhanka, Oktyabr, Leninskoye and Kominternovo.

Rebels are reporting one dead and one wounded soldier, both unidentified.