Events in Ukraine on 5 December 2014.

Briefly about the most important today's events in our digest of events

that have happened in Ukraine today

55 shell strikes on ATO forces. 3 civilians killed

Insurgent groups fired upon positions of ATO forces 55 times within the past 24 hours; Ukrainian military carried out 31 attacks on rebel positions.

We received information about three civilians killed and three others wounded within the past 24 hours, the ATO press centre reports.

Illegal armed formations are still very active in the Lugansk, Debaltseve, Donetsk and Mariupol directions.

Rebels loose a tank near Stanyza Luganska; a number of casualties reported among civilians in Debaltseve

The intensity of rebel shell strikes on Ukrainian troops has increased to the north and west of the city of Lugansk, the head of the Information Resistance Group, Dmytro Tymchuk, posted on his  Facebook Wall.

The IR group reported earlier that a large body of artillery troops - at least 2 battalions of barrel and rocket artillery - had arrived in this region.

"Yesterday December 4, the enemy massively used tanks in battles near the settlement of Stanyza Luganska (8 units). Rebels lost at least one tank as a result of fighting; the offensive was disrupted by Ukrainian troops replying to the enemy fire", Tymchuk said.

According to the IR, insurgents also "continue to build new artillery emplacements near Makiyivka (with works being carried out mainly in the north and north-east districts of the town)".

"The enemy also conducted massive strikes on Ukrainian troops near the town of Debaltseve causing casualties among the local residents", Tymchuk says.

Insurgents fire upon Lugansk region: 2 civilians wounded

Two civilians have been wounded as a result of shelling the town of Schastya in Lugansk region, Head of Lugansk Regional State Administration Gennadiy Moskal reported on his official webpage on Friday. Terrorists of the so-called PRL fired upon Ukraine-controlled territories in Lugansk region 43 times in the past 24 hours. Unfortunately, there are casualties among the civilian population.

"The settlements of Krymske, Tryokhizbenka, Vilkhove and Stanytsia Luganska were under fire, too", Moskal announced.

According to him, the most difficult situation is in Stanyza Luganska. Several close combats with automatic weapons, grenade launchers and mortars took place here yesterday and overnight. 

The MFA of Ukraine called on the world to appease Russia on the day of the 20th anniversary of signing the Budapest Memorandum

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has called on the signatory countries of the Budapest Memorandum to take immediate measures to restore the territorial integrity, sovereignty and peace in Ukraine, which have been violated by one of the signatories of the document - Russia.

On the 20th anniversary of the signing of this memorandum the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also urged the signatories to hold a practical discussion of legally binding security assurances to countries that gave up or plan to give up nuclear weapons, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported on Friday.

"On the day of the 20th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum we call on the guarantors of Ukraine's security to take urgent steps for the restoration of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and peace in Ukraine, as well as to begin a practical discussion of legally binding security assurances to countries that made or are planning to make a historic decision to give up nuclear weapons," reads the report.

The ministry described the violation by Russia of its security guarantees as "an act of open aggression against Ukraine" and "a threat to the entire international system of nuclear security."

Such actions by Russia, according to the ministry, undermine the regime of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a whole and create a dangerous precedent of the gross breach of security guarantees in return for giving up nuclear weapons.

6 soldiers killed and 13 wounded in the past 24 hours in the ATO area

6 military died, and 13 others were wounded in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in the past 24 hours, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, Andriy Lysenko reported on Monday.

Russia brings over 3 columns of materiel including petrol tankers and armoured personnel carriers

Russia has sent to Ukraine three more columns of military equipment including military trucks, armoured personnel carriers and petrol tankers, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, Andriy Lysenko, reported at a briefing on Friday.

"We received information on the arrival of three Russian columns of military hardware with over 200 units only during yesterday. 

According to Lysenko, a column of 150 vehicles passed through the village of Dubrovka from the Russian side on Thursday at 8 a.m. heading for the village of Dmytrivka followed at 12.10 by another column of materiel consisting of ten petrol tankers and six armoured personnel carriers.

"40 trucks including 33 petrol tankers were observed moving through the Izvaryne checkpoint on Friday night heading for the city of Lugansk", Lysenko said.