The deaths of civilians as a result of an attack by the Ukrainian forces were reported in the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. The LPR village of Novoaydar was hit by a Tochka-U missile, killing a 30-year-old woman. In the DPR, a resident in the town of Staromikhailovka fell victim to a mortar attack. The town closely adjoins the districts of Donetsk and Maryinka, where DPR troops, with the support of our military, pushed back units of the Ukrainian army and bandits.

One soldier said, “They’re constantly flying drones, they’re filming us.” He added, “They haven’t directly hit our artillery, but we’ve definitely hit them, we took down and captured two of their drones.”

Ukrainian forces had been positioned here [in Donetsk]. Now, the Ukrainian army has been pushed back beyond the heaps of waste, where you can see smoke. In some houses, where the Ukrainian army was located, you can see swastikas. The Ukrainian army was positioned on the waste heap itself, there were snipers and gunners there, who coordinated artillery attacks.

The People’s militia soldiers, having knocked out a unit of the Ukrainian army, consolidated their positions behind the heap of waste and continue to move forward. Every inch of the area that was fortified by the enemy has to be gnawed off, street by street, troops say. A commander of the Donetsk People’s Republic militia, said: “Here, a stock of foreign weapons was found – foreign grenade launchers, English, American, NATO samples. Here are Polish-Swedish grenade launchers. There was an abundance of foreign weapons here.” During their retreat, the Ukrainian army threw away a lot of ammunition.

Now that the enemy has been pushed back from Marynka, things have become quieter in the neighboring settlements. One resident, an elderly man, said: “Like it or not, life carries on, you want to live, spring and summer are coming.” It seems like today was the first time that residents in Aleksandrovka felt the spring. They’re cleaning the streets, sweeping away shell fragments from the Ukrainian army.

With the help of Iskanders, Russian forces are carrying out precision strikes against military infrastructure belonging to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The strikes destroy enemy command posts, communication centers, warehouses with weapons, ammunition and fuel, as well as air defense and military equipment. Calculations are clear and consistent. They work out the target and immediately change position so as not to fall under return fire.

Today, the Ministry of Defense spoke about new heroes among our armed forces. Sergeant Vasily Verkhushkin, along with his squad, guarded an ammunition depot. At night, he discovered a sabotage-intelligence group — 19 nationalists with small arms and grenade launchers. Verkhushkin reported the situation and opened fire. Despite having superior forces, the enemy was met with a decisive pushback. And the sergeant, despite being wounded, continued to fight and held back the enemy until reinforcements arrived.

A group under the command of Senior Lieutenant Sairan Zhusupov, which included Sergeant Anatoly Kishkanov and Private Alexei Nepomnyashchikh, discovered and neutralized more than 15 makeshift explosive devices belonging to the nationalists, and a dozen anti-tank mines.

A video circulating on social media shows how the Ukrainian army is fighting and who they are targeting. In the video, Ukrainian fighters follow and destroy a truck. From the conversation between the gunner and his assistant, it is clear that they had seen a symbol of a cross on a white canopy. This symbol is usually displayed on cars with humanitarian aid or ambulances.

Other shots in the video provoke an even greater emotional reaction. They show the Ukrainian military laying mines in the village, right next to the houses. Residents scream in despair that children are walking there. But the people in camouflage don’t care.

According to our Ministry of Defense, a kindergarten in the Kherson region — an operational one — was converted into a stronghold by the Ukrainian army. The Russian military has already surveyed the territory and removed mines. There is evidence that the Ukrainian security forces were using the school for several years.

A member of the Russian armed forces said: “It can be understood from the documents obtained at their residences that they were there for a very long time, they set up firing points and firing positions directly in the kindergarten. They also carried out engineering and special training, which indicates that they installed explosive devices, despite the fact that children were studying here.”

The use of people as a human shield, as reported multiple times by our Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs — is a favorite method of terrorists. Analogies can be made for other reasons.

A social advertisement has been launched in Ukraine. The video, which is set against the background of a wheat field, shows a woman wearing an embroidered shirt, who cuts the throat of a man in a vest using a sickle. The Ukrainian monologue, with English subtitles, talks about a bloody harvest and some ancient Ukrainian god.

Similar videos have been shown to the world: members of the banned ISIS often filmed captives being beheaded.

By the way, the little-known actress from Lviv, who plays the woman in the video, has reportedly taken down her social media profiles. Apparently, not everyone appreciated her latest work.