In March 2016 the Ukrainian army set up its fortifications in the area "Industrial Zone", until then a buffer zone between the Donetsk People's Republic controlled territories and the Ukrainian army controlled Ukraine in the eastern part Avdiivka. This meant that the pro-Russian separatists no longer had full control of the highway that united their controlled cities Donetsk and Horlivka and that it became more difficult for them to fire at Avdiivka with weapons not prohibited by the Minsk II agreement. Since March 2016 fighting for Avdiivka's "Industrial Zone" greatly intensified.