Ukrainian army units have exchanged fire in the area of the children’s hospital in Artyomovsk, military expert Lt-Col (Retired) Andrey Marochko told the Lugansk Media Center.   “A brief clash with smalls arms and grenade launcher fire has been recorded in the children’s hospital area in the western outskirts of Artyomovsk,” Marochko said referring to his own sources. “There are no Russian troops in the area; (there are) only Ukrainian gunmen and mercenaries.”   The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014.  The peace talks that began soon thereafter failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.   Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression on February 24, 2022. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.   The Lugansk People’s Republic acceded to Russia on September 30, 2022 following the unification referendum.*i*ie