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Civil war in Ukraine: News & discussion

http://uatoday.tv/news/two-ukrainian-saboteers-reported-grabbed-in-crimea-809963.html

Ukrainian military intelligence agency denies the Russian allegations

Two more 'Ukrainian saboteurs' arrested in the occupied Crimea reported by the Russian media, the UNIAN agency reports.

According to these reports, the Simferopol district court ordered the arrest of two more people charged with intending to conduct subversive activity at infrastructure objects in the peninsula.

One of the so-called saboteurs is reported as Ukraine's Chief Directorate of Intelligence colonel Oleksiy Stogniy, while the other one is allegedly identified as Hlib Shabliy. They were reportedly arrested last week.

"The court hearing was conducted behind closed doors. A detention of 2 months is ordered as the pre-trial restriction measure. Their ties with the other three saboteurs convicted previously, have been revealed," the RIA news agency reports.

As reported previously, another Ukrainian 'saboteur group' was allegedly arrested by the occupational forces in Sevastopol. The Ukrainians were convicted of subversive activities.

Ukraine's top intelligence agency has been denying these allegations.

"This regular fake news of the Russian special services is aimed to hide their own repressive actions towards the population on the peninsula , as well as to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the world," the agency' officials claim.

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http://uatoday.tv/society/donbas-fr...elled-and-fierce-firefight-filmed-810073.html

Ukrainian fighters counterattacked militant reconnaissance-sabotage group, which retreated losing weapon

Russia-backed separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 15 times in the past 24 hours, the Anti-Terrorist Operation HQ reports. In the Mariupol sector, which is the hottest spot of the frontline for weeks, militants used armour (tanks and infantry fighting vehicles), mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. In Donetsk and Luhansk sectors militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and mortars attacking government-controlled frontline villages.

Also in Luhansk sector Ukrainian military repelled the attack of militant reconnaissance-sabotage group near the village of Trokhizbenka, the head of the ATO headquarters press centre Leonid Matyukhin told "112 Ukraine" TV channel.

"Yesterday at about 22:00 near the Trokhizbenka our military found enemy's reconnaissance-sabotage group. The commander decided to take them prisoner, and tried to encircle the group, but our fighters were spotted. To support their group enemy opened fire with automatic grenade launchers. Taking of the scouts captive failed, but the enemy fled leaving weapons," Matyukhin specified.

Also yesterday, Chechenian volunteers of Ukrainian army, known as Dudayev battalion, published new video of frontline firefight.
"Russian occupiers opened fire on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and recieved a hard fight back," comment to the video reads.

As footage shows, Russian proxies attack Ukrainian fighters from their fortified position. Soldiers open response fire, using only light weapon of calibre below 100mm, allowed by Minsk agreements (machine guns, automatic cannon, grenade launcher).

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http://uatoday.tv/opinion/crimean-ukrainian-i-will-be-the-next-saboteur-810103.html

Former military personnel in Crimea are being moulded into ‘saboteurs' with such a velocity that I, probably, will be the next. As they say, all the necessary qualities are available.

Judge for yourself: I am a former Ukrainian officer who served in military intelligence, has been actively engaged in public and journalistic activities, and khokhol by nationality [a derogatory Russian term for Ukrainians]. I hate Putin and all his camarilla. My attitude to the annexation is obvious. Well, I am a ready-made saboteur!

And who cares that it was the electronic intelligence service, I fired a pistol only once in my life, and saw explosives, mines and grenades only on TV.

They will conduct a search and find what they need. In the "Russian Post" boxes, as usual. The only one trouble for the FSB is that I do not play airsoft.

And the fact that I retired to the reserve 12 years ago and the last 3 years of service I filled a chair in the city military commissariat, is just wonderful – this means I am a well-placed undercover agent.

It is not beyond this bitchy regime to have this done.

Even though they had long ago lost the right to call themselves authorities. They are just a pack of dogs. Those who live by the rules of rogues, thieves and bandits.

P.S. Right after I published this, my Facebook friends and not so friends rushed to ask why I am saying all these things, about intelligence and so on. Alleging that I am courting disaster and attracting attention of secret services, etc.

I will answer all at once:

- I feel disgust, contempt and a range of other emotions towards this bitchy authorities, that are now in Crimea. But I certainly do not feel any fear.

- I am not going to run away from here with my tail between my legs;

- I wrote all this to express my attitude to what is happening.

The 'saboteur fever' seems to be far from ending in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula. On November 21, Simferopol district court ordered the arrest of two more people charged with intending to conduct subversive activity at infrastructure objects in the peninsula.

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http://uatoday.tv/society/kyiv-hosts-requiems-for-heroes-of-heavenly-hundred-810163.html
Today, in central Kyiv, people commemorate ‘Heavenly Hundred' heroes, who perished during the Revolution of Dignity

Day of Dignity and Freedom began with a requiem for the dead Euromaidan heroes. During the third anniversary of Maidan, relatives of the dead heroes, wounded Maidan rebels and activists of the Revolution of Dignity laid flowers to pay tribute to the departed. People also lighted the candles and commemorated the heroes with a minute of silence. 106 people were killed during the Revolution of Dignity.

The national police announced that for maintenance of civil security and discipline, 15,000 policemen and 3,000 of national guardsmen are involved. In all of the regions of Ukraine, 380 mass events will take place. At least 66,000 people are expected to take part in the events. 11,000 people are expected to take part in the events in Kyiv.

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Novemeber 21 is an official rememberance day in Ukraine, Day of Dignity and Freedom, which was introduced by Petro Poroshenko in 2014. Day of Dignity and Freedom is marked to honor the beginning of two revolutions: the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/385305.html

The suspected Ukrainian saboteurs apprehended in Crimea bear no relation to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman for the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in Donbas Andriy Lysenko has said.

"Those people were discharged from military service a long time ago. They had a business, they lived there with their families," Lysenko said on the 112.Ukraine TV channel on Monday, speaking of the Russian media reports on the detention of Oleksiy Stohniy and Hleb Shabliy in Crimea.

Lysenko said those were reserve officers and that Russian security services "did not have to search for them anywhere."

"The Federal Security Service simply comes to military registration and enlistment offices where personal files of reserve officers are stored, retrieve those files and publicly designate their owners as Ukrainian saboteurs. Clearly, such people have certain training but they are not active servicemen, including those of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the ministry spokesman said.

According to him, the reserve officers had been on the peninsula before its occupation by the Russian Federation.

"These are people who finished military service long ago, ran business, lived there and had families there," Lysenko said.

He called this a regular situation, "of false series under the authorship of the Russian FSB called "everywhere you look - they are everywhere."

On Monday, the Russian Federation reported that the alleged Ukrainian saboteurs Oleksiy Stohniy and Hleb Shabliy were detained in Crimea.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/385309.html
Two Ukrainian servicemen were injured in the anti-terrorist operation zone (ATO) in Donbas in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Lysenko has said.

"No Ukrainian servicemen died but two suffered injuries during attacks in Luhanske and Avdiyivka over the past day," he told a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.

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November 21, 2016 15:00

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=716138
Kyiv reports injury of 2 Ukrainian servicemen in Donbas (Part 2)

KYIV. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Two Ukrainian servicemen were injured in the army operation zone in Donbas in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.

"No Ukrainian servicemen died but two suffered injuries during attacks in Luhanske and Avdiivka over the past day," he told a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.

The number of militia attacks has drastically declined in the past 24 hours, especially in the Mariupol sector, while heavy armaments continue to be used, Lysenko said.

In his words, the militia attacked Ukrainian army positions near Trekhizbenka in the Luhansk sector, and the clash lasted for 20 minutes. Mortars were fired near Krymske, and the truce was breached in the Makarove area, near Stanytsia Luhanska and Zhovte. In all, five shelling incidents were observed in the Luhansk sector over the past day.

The militia opened fire near Luhanske, Zaitseve and Avdiivka in the Donetsk sector, Kyiv said, adding that the shelling incidents lasted from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. The Ukrainian army had to return fire. Five attacks, including those using heavy weapons, were seen in the Donetsk sector over the past day, he said.

In the Mariupol sector, the militia fired a tank weapon and a mortar in Krasnohorivka, a sniper was active in Novotroitske, and mortars were used near Vodyane. In all, the Mariupol sector saw four shelling incidents, including two using heavy weapons, over the past day, he said.

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15:48
DPR reports 500 ceasefire breaches by Ukraine in past 24 hours

12:38
Two suspected Ukrainian saboteurs detained in Crimea - source

11:04
DPR, LPR report Ukrainian army attacks on their positions

10:41
Ukrainian army reports 15 attacks on its positions in Donbas
 
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http://uatoday.tv/politics/two-army...order-with-russia-occupied-crimea-810698.html
10:32 Nov. 22, 2016

The Ukrainian SBU Security Service says that the two men who have recently been detained at the administrative border between mainland Ukraine and Russia-occupied Crimea are defectors who chose to serve in the Russian army after the occupation, according to Russian-registered news portal Mediazona.

"The two deserters have not been abducted – they have been arrested while crossing the Chonhar checkpoint at the border," SBU spokesperson Olena Hitlianska told Mediazona.

"These are two Ukrainian soldiers who violated an oath of allegiance and started to serve in the Russian Federation's army in the occupied territory of Crimea. When they arrived in Ukrainian territory across Chonhar, they were apprehended as criminal proceedings had been opened against them," she said.

In her words, criminal cases have been opened against all army deserters who have betrayed Ukraine. Russian media earlier reported that Russia's Defense Ministry had accused Ukrainian special services of allegedly illegal detention and abduction of two Russian servicemen in Crimea.

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http://uatoday.tv/news/ukraine-troops-fight-off-militants-mounting-attacks-on-key-town-810713.html

10:38 Nov. 22, 2016
Government forces returned fire near Avdiivka after being shelled with banned weapons for nearly two hours, November 22 report says

The Russian-backed separatist forces violated the ceasefire 17 times over the past 24 hours, shelling the positions of the Ukrainian forces in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

This is according to a report, provided by Ukraine's Anti-Terrorist operation headquarters on November 22.


Ukrainian troops had to fight the militants off, after they had been shelled for nearly two hours near government-held Avdiivka, 20 kilometers north of Donetsk.

'The occupiers used the 120-mm mortars, banned by Minsk, as well as different grenade launchers and machine guns to attack Ukraine's armed forces near Avdiivka. ATO soldiers were forced to use an armored infantry vehicle and assault weapons' Ukraine's military rep Ivan Kryvyi said in an interview with the local 112 Channel.

The militants also used the 152-mm artillery and a tank to target the government forces in Hnutove village and several other areas near the city of Mariupol.

Mortars and infantry vehicles shelled Ukraine's servicemen in Shyrokyne, which had been the aim of the combatants for many months.

The report said clashes had occurred in the Luhansk region too, with mortars shelling the central-western village of Krymske.

SMM OSCE, in turn, published a report on the ceasefire violations during the past several days.

'The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in #Donetsk region during the period between the evenings of 18 and 19 November, and fewer ceasefire violations during the period between the evenings of 19 and 20 November, compared with the previous reporting period', the report said.

In Luhansk region there was a deescalation in combat activity, the mission said. The number of explosions, observed by the monitors, was still estimated in hundreds.


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14:30 Nov. 22, 2016
http://uatoday.tv/society/ukrainian...on-mariupol-russian-bmp-destroyed-810923.html

Russian proxies attacking with armour, mortars, and even MLRS, Ukrainian forces allowed ‘active response fire'


During the last day of militant hostilities there is no killed and wounded among Ukrainian troops, Defence Ministry of Ukraine speaker Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk reports.

Meanwhile, the situation in Donbas is tense, Russian proxies attacking in all directions. The relatively quiet Luhansk area seen 3 militant attacks, including one with heavy weapons (10-minute mortar shelling of Krymske village).

Attacks and fire raids on Donetsk direction were longer, as always – from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours. Militants commenced 4 attacks here, including 2 with the use of mortars. Ukrainian positions were hit by over 40 mortar shells.

The main fighting continues in the Azov sea coastal lines. Yesterday there were 10 militant attacks, including 8 mortar and artillery raids. Militants also used armour, including infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. Ukrainian positions were hit with 50 mortar mines and 14 artillery and tank shells.

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This morning Russian proxies commenced one more attack, using ‘Grad-P' system, shooting 122-mm MLRS missiles, ATO HQ informs. 4 such missiles were fired towards Krasnohorivka village west of Donetsk.

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Ukrainian troops actively opened response fire, Col. Motuzianyk stressed. In Mariupol directions at least one militant was killed and one Russian BMP destroyed by the Ukrainian army.

According to military intelligence, Kremlin continues supporting militant forces with ammunition and fighters. In particular, 450 tons of fuel, three rail cars with spare parts for tanks, and six rail cars of ammunition recently came from Russia to militant-held territory.

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Ukraine's secret service reports 108 Ukrainians are still held hostage in occupied territories

http://uatoday.tv/politics/prisoners-exchange-has-slowed-down-since-september-811083.html

Relatives of the hostages held in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions say the last release took place in early September. Some people have been in a captivity for over 2 years, others can hardly be reached.

Olha Morozova has been waiting for her son Oleksandr for almost 2 years. The soldier was caught near Donetsk airport. For a month, he was tortured, then moved to the building of former Ukraine's security service. Periodically, he was even able to call his mum. However, at the beginning of this summer the connection was cut off. The only contact with him is a letter brought by UN representatives who visited captives.

"Hello, my family. I'm good, alive. Hope to see you soon. Miss you all"

For the past 3 months, there has been no information about him. His mum together with relatives of other captives are tired of looking for answers about their loved ones' release.

"Mum, Ira, dad. I am in Donetsk. We are fed, not beaten. Everything's ok"

After that video message, the father of a captured soldier Oleksiy Kodman went to Donetsk and even managed to see his son.

Serhiy Kodman, captive's father: I was in Donetsk for almost a month but couldn't liberate him.

Yuriy Tandit, advisor for the head of SBU secret service: There are 108 Ukrainian captives in the occupied territories. We are working on their liberation. Our service knows about the location of 57 people.

The more time passes by, the harder it is for the hostages' relatives to talk about their sons, brothers or husbands who are now in a captivity.

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http://uatoday.tv/politics/face-to-...strategic-military-area-of-donbas-811108.html


Ex-combatant of Russian-backed separatist forces revealed info about their salaries and tactics

A militant arrested by Ukraine's Secret Service in Donetsk region confessed that Russian military deliver daily, up to 10 cargo rail carriages to Debaltsevo full of combat shells. That's 300 tons in total.

The Avdiivka industrial zone, a suburb of Donetsk, is an epicenter of shelling. Russian-backed separatist forces don't give up ideas to repel the strategic site. They fire from the Yasynuvata junction.

The elevated road between Avdiivka and Yasynuvata is almost like an Achilles heel for militants.

"Slovyan", commander of a unit of 72nd brigade: Staying at this position, we have cut off the connection from Donetsk to Horlivka.

Beyond the elevated road, there is a highway to Yasynuvata, a major railway junction for separatists. Ammunition warehouses are restored there daily. Directly from the Russian military plants.

That junction is short a step away from the Ukrainian army barracks. However, the Minsk deal prevented Ukrainians from moving further and let militants settle there.

Every day, Russian-backed proxies try to push Ukrainian army as far back from the junction as possible.

Andriy Kyzylo, second commander of the battalion: We are confronted by the "Vostok" battalion .

"Vostok" spares no ammunition in the attacks, and their snipers targeted every possible loophole of Ukrainian positions.

As soon as the camera appeared in a gap, an enemy sniper opened fire... and wounded a soldier. Luckily, the wound wasn't too bad.

About banned caliber weapons, Russian instructors and the price for betrayal, we learned from one who was fighting on the enemy's side of the Avdiivka industrial zone. Valentyn Hulak has been serving in the militant units "Oplot" and "Vostok" since 2014.

Valentyn Hulak, ex-militant: In "Oplot", the majority are Russians. Even the commanding officers are Russian.

He continues that it's hard to see Russians at the front because they are afraid of getting caught.

The man was arrested on the Ukrainian front. As Ukraine's counter-intelligence says he participated in shelling Avdiivka from the side of Yasynuvata junction.

Valentyn Hulak: Firing for 10-20 minutes, and then leaving.

Valentyn Hulak: Militants' starting pay is from 15 thousand rubles".

And here is how the Avdiivka industrial zone divides, lives: those who defend their land will have a bright military career, the arrested militant - a life behind the bars.

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Interfax news

November 22, 2016

22:39
Ukrainian govt forces in Donbas shelled 19 times on Tuesday - staff
 
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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/385827.html
23.11.2016
Officers of the State Border Service of Ukraine started to clear passengers and vehicles crossing the contact line in Luhansk region through the Zolote checkpoint in the Popasna district on Wednesday morning.

"Ukrainian border guards began admission through the Zolote checkpoint at 8 a.m. today. Roughly ten vehicles and around 20 passengers have already been cleared," assistant head of the State Border Service Oleh Slobodian told Interfax-Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side cannot say for now that passengers and vehicles are being allowed crossing into the other side, he said, adding "no one has come to our side."

"So, we cannot say at this moment that admission has fully resumed," Slobodian said.

He told Interfax-Ukraine later that the LPR denied admission to passengers and vehicles.

"The traffic did not resume," Slobodian said.
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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/385846.html
The Maryinka checkpoint on the Donbas contact line has reopened for passengers and vehicles.

"Clearance of passengers and vehicles has resumed at the Maryinka checkpoint," the State Border Service of Ukraine said on Wednesday.

According to Ukrainian border guards, militants fired on the Maryinka checkpoint situated on the Donetsk-Kurakhove transit corridor on Wednesday morning. For that reason, the checkpoint's operation was suspended.
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Interfax news

November 23, 2016
14:12
One Ukrainian serviceman killed, 3 injured in Donbas over past day

12:15
Ukraine's prosecutor general: 73,000 Russian citizens moved to Crimea

11:48
Mariinka checkpoint reopens in Donbas after attack

11:35
Ukraine tries to reopen Zolote checkpoint in Luhansk region - Kyiv

11:17
Ukrainian border guards accuse militia of attack on Mariinka checkpoint

11:11
Ukrainian representative to Trilateral Contact Group calls for improving checkpoints' performance
 
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http://uatoday.tv/crime/russian-pro...near-mariupol-casualties-reported-811903.html

Kremlin-backed militants continue massive shelling in the Mariupol direction with shorter fire raids in other areas

During the last 24 hours Mariupol sector remained the most dangerous area in Donbas, spokesman for the Defence Ministry of Ukraine Col. Andriy Lysenko informed.

In particular, Russian proxies commenced direct assault on the Vodiane village, but after 3-hour battle had to retreat. After that they shelled Ukrainian positions in the village with 122mm artillery.

Another village, Krasnohorivka, was shelled with Russian "Grad Partizan" missiles (122mm rockets for MLRS). Later militants commenced a number of mortar attacks on the same lines. Smaller battle clashes have been reported from other locations.

In general, during the last day Russia-controlled ‘separatists' made 16 attacks in the Mariupol direction, 9 of them with heavy weapons.

Donetsk and Luhansk areas have seen 4 militants attacks each. Russian proxies hadn't assaulted with ground troops any Ukrainian positions there, but used mortars of different calibres very intensively, fire raids lasted from 20 minutes to 1 hour.

"Thus, the enemy still continues to keep heavy weapons at the frontline," Col. Lysenko stressed.

All those attacks costed Ukrainian army one soldier killed and 3 injured.

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http://uatoday.tv/politics/russia-s...d-for-refusing-to-fight-in-donbas-811933.html

A Russian contract serviceman complained to the Presidential Council on Human Rights claiming that he had been unlawfully dismissed from the army for refusal to go to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region in 2015. Military command argues 'drunk driving and disciplinary offences' were the reason to terminate his contract, Russian RBC agency reports.

The senior sergeant of the 536-th separate coastal missile and artillery brigade of the military unit 10544 from the Murmansk region, Vladimir Marchukov said he was dismissed from service on November 10. The story of Marchukov and other servicemen of the same brigade, who complained about the attempt to send them to fight to Donbas in February 2015, had been earlier reported by the Russian gazeta.ru, however the sergeant's last name was not mentioned.

Donbas Episode

Since 1990, Marchukov has been serving in the ranks of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense. In March 2014 he was called up for the military service in the 536th brigade, part of the 10544th military unit. He was then sent to the First Division of the coastal anti-ship complex "Redoubt" to serve as a rocket launcher operator.

The senior sergeant told RBC that at the end of January 2015 contract servicemen of his brigade were called up to the command of the 10544 unit, where Colonel Rustam Sanzhapov allegedly threatened with dismissal if the subordinates refused to go fight in Ukraine. Several people refused immediately, the remaining 56 went to the village of Sputnik near Murmansk, where the 61st separate marine brigade is stationed.

While there, the troops have undergone additional training with a change of military specialities. The exercises included firing and operating special equipment.

When the soldiers complained of the cold in the barracks, the deputy commander of their 10544 unit, lieutenant colonel Vyacheslav Okanev, came and reminded the subordinates about the need to go to Ukraine.

RBC has an audio recording of the conversation, in which the officer said he "does not exclude deployment to the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and to provide direct assistance there." In February 2015, combined Russian-separatist forces were storming the Ukrainian city of Debaltseve.

"If you do not want to defend, if they crush Lugansk and Donetsk now ... They seized the opportunity that for the last 20 years Russia has not been doing its normal job there," Okanev said. "They came to power. The situation may develop in such a way that they will come to Stavropol, Krasnodar, Rostov, Bryansk, and so on, if you do not go there right now and do not protect them there.." he added.

After the incident, the lieutenant colonel did not deny the subject of the conversation, but added he was "misunderstood".

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Vladimir Marchukov (Photo source: RBC)

Marchukov refused to go to Donbas. His wife filed a complaint to the Presidential Council on Human Rights. Russia's Defence Ministry sent a commission to pay an inspection visit to the unit. Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov has subsequently denied information about Murmansk contractors being sent to Donbas.

Emerging problems

Marchukov's wife, Victoria, has been working in a canteen of the same 10544 military unit.

After her complaint to the Human Rights Council, she was warned by her bosses that she was being followed by the FSB [Russian Security Service]. Eventually, she was forced to quit her job, leave the garrison and return to Murmansk.

After the incident in the village of Sputnik, Marchukov returned to the 10544 military unit. Some of his fellow servicemen quitted or were transferred to other units. Several officers were interrogated by the FSB.

Marchukov's complaint did not go unnoticed. The commanding officers started maintaining pressure on him, entering disciplinary remarks into his personal records and forging his signatures. In a conversation with RBC, the fact of pressure on Marchukov was confirmed by his former fellow serviceman, on condition of anonymity.

A year after the events in Sputnik, in January 2016, Marchukov's division was reduced, but his contract was extended. After a month of service Marchukov was presented a certification sheet, which indicated the disciplinary breaches of the contract. He refused to sign that document.

The re-certification of Marchukov was scheduled for November 8, 2016, but he failed it. On November 10, 2016 and promtly dismissed from military service.

Marchukov calls his re-certification "pure window dressing" and associates the problems with his refusal to go to Donbas. Sergeant showed RBC his numerous positive references from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Armed Forces for 18 years of service.

Official Version

The commander of the 10544 unit Colonel Yury Ryazantsev told RBC that Marchukov failed the certification because of drunk driving.

Marchukov confirmed that just before the New Year he, indeed, was caught driving under influence, but he immediately reported about the incident to the command, and paid a fine. "I have already been punished for an administrative offence. We have a number of officers in the division, who had been deprived of a driving license for drunk driving, and the authorities are well informed about it," said the senior sergeant.

A member of the Human Rights Council and the coordinator of the movement "Citizen and the Army" Sergei Krivenko told RBC that the presidential human rights advocates asked the commanders of the unit and the military prosecutor's office to check the complaint of the senior sergeant. Krivenko believes that Marchukov has a chance to appeal against the dismissal and return to the military service.

The commander of the 10544 unit Ryazantsev told RBC that not one of the Murmansk contractors ever went to Donbas, and the soldiers just practiced military exercises on tactical and combat training in the village of Sputnik. His words were echoed by the Defence Ministry's Department of Information and Public Communications.

The ministry said that inspection did not confirm any single case of "sending servicemen, including under pressure and coercion, into a war zone in the south-east of Ukraine."

Moreover, the Department stressed that currently Marchukov is an active duty serviceman who enjoys all the benefits, and will be entitled to social guarantees from the Ministry of Defence after his retirement.

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http://uatoday.tv/politics/donbas-m...iminals-to-be-released-herashenko-812033.html

The Russian-backed militants extended its list of detained persons that they demand to be released to an approximate number of 700, Ukraine's representative to the Trilateral contact group in Minsk Iryna Herashenko claimed on Wednesday.

"The Ukrainian side had made a certain proposal to release several severely ill and aged persons, particularly I. Kozlovsky, a religious studies scholar and a historian, who's health had deteriorated significantly," Herashenko wrote on her Facebook page.

Despite of this, the separative militant representatives rejected this proposal, she added, so there's no compromise on exchanging 57 Ukrainian prisoners and hostages.

The total number of people that militants want to be released increases after each Minsk meeting, Herashenko says, noting that the list also includes grave offence convicts, murderers and those who are not connected to the Donbas conflict, but convicted of terror attacks in Odesa and Kharkiv.

Meanwhile, another Ukrainian national was arrested in Russia and then transferred to the Donbas militants, she also wrote on her page.

"We received the information that the Russian Federation had unreasonably arrested a Ukrainian citizen named Mykolaiv and handed him over to the militant-controlled territory. Moreover, Ukraine's national was transferred to the militants through the uncontrolled border, which is classed as unlawful human trafficking, an international humanitarian law violation." Herashenko noted.

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http://uatoday.tv/politics/minsk-uk...ck-to-make-disengagement-possible-812063.html

During the safety subgroup session of the Trilateral group in Minsk Ukraine has once again raised the question of returning to the demarcation line of September 19, 2014, according to which the town of Debaltseve should be under control of Ukraine.

"Further implementation of the framework decision on the disengagement of forces and equipment may occur after the demilitarization of Debaltseve," Darka Olifer, the spokesperson of Ukraine's envoy to the Minsk talks Leonid Kuchma informed.

If Russian proxies would comply the regime of silence, disengagement of forces near the village of Stanytsya Luhanska can be carried out starting on November 26, 2016.

Also Trilateral contact group decided to ask Victor Medvedchuk and representatives of militants about perspectives of release of Ukrainians, illegally detained by Russia and its proxies.

In the economic subgroup Ukraine delivered a number of important issues, like absence of agreements on water supply, which Kyiv still gives to militant-held areas, and opening the new checkpoint village of Zolote, which is still under militant fire.
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http://uatoday.tv/crime/russia-detains-one-more-spy-in-crimea-now-its-own-ex-military-812553.html

FSB arrested former Russian military for "spying for Ukraine" in Crimea's Sevastopol

A former serviceman of the Black Sea Fleet HQ Leonid Parkhomenko was detained in the strategic port city of Sevastopol on the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, UNIAN reports.

FSB argues that the man has allegedly been collecting intelligence on Russian fleet operations for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

"November 22, the Federal Security Service in the city of Sevastopol detained a former serviceman from the Black Sea Fleet Headquarters, Captain 2nd rank(equivalent of Commander in British Navy – UT) of army reserve Parkhomenko Leonid Sergeyevich," the FSB statement reads.

Russian ‘law enforcers' claim that Parkhomenko "collected and handed over classified information about the activities of the Black Sea Fleet to the foreign secret service," namely Ukrainian Military Intelligence.

According to the Russian Criminal Code, Parkhomenko faces up to 20 years in prison if the court proves treason.

The speaker of the Ministry of Defence Colonel Andrei Lysenko commented the incident in a way that Russia takes the names of new "Ukrainian saboteurs" from the personal files of data base of former military, who served in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukrainian or Russian fleet.

"Details of the alleged detention of ‘Ukrainian spy' is a continuation of the Russian FSB show, which, unfortunately, we expect to continue... The Russian special services will facilitate their work, using the database with the personal data of former serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation," Lysenko told 'Ukrainska pravda'.

According to the speaker, these people have been civilians for long time, doing business and having no relation to military service.

"FSB is just enjoying this way since it is very easy to raise these cases and to appoint more and more ‘saboteurs.' They can accuse anyone who was involved in military services," Colonel explained.

In turn, Ukrainian Security Service spokesperson Olena Hitlyanska told RFE/RL: "I have as yet no information, but I'm sure this is fake... Unlike us, they're distributing fakes daily, unreasonably detain people."

As UT reported earlier, two days ago two Ukrainian army defectors, now serving in Russian occupational forces, were detained at the border with Russian-occupied Crimea. Russian media called the incident 'a Counter Strike', because SBU detained Russian servicemen after a wave of Ukrainian ‘saboteur' arrests'. Later the spec op footage of capturing traitors was released by Ukrainian Intel.


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http://uatoday.tv/crime/donbas-ignited-number-of-militants-attacks-doubled-soldier-kia-812683.html

Number of Russian proxy attacks growing dramatically, Ukrainian forces suffering new losses

Spokesman of the Ministry of Defense in Ukraine Colonel Alexander Motuzyanyk reported today, Nov. 24, the total number of militant attacks in Donbas increased, as well as the level of heavy weapons usage.

Mariupol direction remaining the scene of fiercest fighting. Mariupol direction has seen 27 enemy attacks, including 10 with heavy weapons. Yesterday Ukrainian MoD reported 16 firefights in this area.

"On all fronts enemy's sniper fire intensified. Near Mariinka and on the coast (of Azov sea – UT) strong mortar shelling from the enemy continues. Given the systematic supply of ammunition from Russia, density of enemy fire increased – our positions suffered more than 200 hits," Col. Motuzyanyk stated.



Luhansk and Donetsk areas, almost quiet the day before, has exploded during previous 24 hours.

"Enemy attacks were long and very powerful, so Ukrainian troops opened fire in response," MoD speaker explained.


Yesterday Luhansk area suffered 14 militant attacks, including 3 – with heavy weapons. Donetsk direction has seen intense fighting in key hot spots – Luhanske, Zaitseve, Avdiivka, and "Butivka mine." 36 enemy mortar mines hit Ukrainian positions on the Svitlodarsk bulge. Total 7 enemy attacks, including 3 with heavy weapons, reported near Donetsk.


During the past day, one Ukrainian soldier reported dead. He was killed in Mariinka during militant fire raid.

Yesterday MoD speaker reported 24 militant attacks in all directions, which caused 1 Ukrainian soldier killed and 3 more injured. Also yesterday the regular round of Minsk peace talks took place. Ukraine demanded Debaltseve back to make disengagement possible, and faced militant demand to release 700 criminals in exchange for 57 Ukrainian hostages.

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Interfax news
November 24, 2016


17:49
DPR says too early to talk of independence but sees no future for itself as part of Ukraine

16:29
DPR calls on Kyiv to conduct prisoner exchange before end of 2016

14:34
DPR observes over 1,100 truce violations by Ukrainian army in past 24 hours

14:34
Ukrainian Defense Ministry unaware of retired Black Sea Fleet officer's detention in Sevastopol (Part 2)

14:33
Minsk calls against unilateral decisions on checkpoints for foreign citizens on Belarusian-Russian border

14:10
One Ukrainian serviceman killed in Donbas - Kyiv

13:53
Ukrainian Defense Ministry unaware of retired Black Sea Fleet officer's detention in Sevastopol
 
. .
http://uatoday.tv/crime/sbu-searches-sea-terminal-owned-by-russian-businessman-photo-812963.html
Investigators suspect company in alleged USD 6 million embezzlement of tonnage dues

In Odesa Region the Security Service of Ukraine launched searches in offices of a private sea terminal, apartments and houses of its managers, SBU press centre reports. Investigative actions are carried out with criminal proceedings on suspicion of alleged USD 6 million embezzlement of tonnage dues.

"In 2015 a company of a well-known Russian businessman, who owned the terminal, illegally formalized the receiving of port duties, then transferred to the State Enterprise 'Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine'. It became possible with registration of property rights for water area of Adzhalytskyi Estuary, which belongs to the Ukrainian people according to the Constitution," SBU reports.


During searches the SBU officers seized unrecorded cash and stamps of off-shore companies. The pre-trial investigation has to establish lawfulness of their obtaining and use.

The SBU report hasn't specified which company is the object of investigation. According to Cenzor.net, it's a biggest private port operator in Ukraine ‘TIS Group.' The main shareholder of TIS is alleged to be a Ukrainian citizen of Russian origin Andrey Stavnitser, the son of the late TIS Group founder, Alexei Stavnitser.

385936428.jpg


385936448.jpg


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http://uatoday.tv/news/record-number-of-ceasefire-violations-in-donbas-since-2014-osce-813308.html
The OSCE Special Monitoring mission in Ukraine reports on the highest number of ceasefire violations since the beginning of the observations in Donbas in 2014, the Ukrinform agency reports.

"Situation keeps deteriorating in the east of Ukraine. Thus, in the mid-November the ceasefire violation rate reached the highest level since forming the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in 2014," the organisation's representative Daniel Baer claimed on Thursday.

Also, the widest engagement of heavy artillery weapons since 2014 is registered these days in Donbas, Baer said.

Read also OSCE warns about a possible attack on Mariupol

The combined Russian-separative forces still bear responsibility for violating ceasefire, the OSCE representative claims. Also, he noted that in the past two months as many as 9 episodes of militants intimidating the OSCE officers. All of these offences remained unpunished, Baer said.

"It's unacceptable. Russia and these separatists it backs must bear responsibility for such behaviour and forbid intimidating and threatening the observers," he claimed.

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http://uatoday.tv/news/deoccupation...years-ukraine-s-interior-minister-813548.html
Military and law enforcement functions of the National Guards must be improved, says minister

The operation on deoccupation of Donbas will be conducted within the period of the next two years, Ukraine's interior minister Arsen Avakov claimed during the National Guards military council extended meeting on Friday.

"I am convinced that in the next two years we'll be deoccupating Donbass. And the National Guards will play the crucial role in it. Everything we do now is aimed to be ready for this process. So the military component must be improved, as well as law enforcement component," the minister said.

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http://www.unian.info/war/1643667-m...-28-times-in-last-day-use-artillery-ifvs.html

Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 28 times in the past 24 hours, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

Russia's hybrid military forces fired artillery systems on the village of Novohryhorivka, reads the report. In the Mariupol sector, the militants used mortars of different calibers toward the towns of Maryinka and Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Novotroyitske, Shyrokyne, Hnutove, Slavne, and Vodiane. They also used infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) near the village of Starohnativka.

"In the Luhansk sector, the occupiers fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades on our positions near the villages of Novozvanivka, Krymske and Novo-Oleksandrivka. The villages of Novo-Oleksandrivka, Stanytsia Luhanska and Krymske were fired from small arms," the report says.

In the Donetsk sector, the enemy opened fire from grenade launchers of various types on the town of Avdiyivka. Additionally, a sniper was active near the village of Opytne.
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Interfax news

November 25, 2016


17:43
Kyiv preparing to regain control of Donbas - interior minister

14:30
LPR authorities ready to open crossing point in Shchastya within several days



http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=5&id=717233
KYIV. Nov 25 (Interfax) - One Ukrainian army serviceman was killed in the Donbas operation zone during the day, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.

"This happened in Opytne, at the hands of a hostile sniper," he told a press briefing in Kyiv on Friday.
map-20-02.png


11:40
DPR reports death of militiaman in conflict area in Donbas

09:59
Kyiv accuses militia of conducting artillery strike on Novohryhorivka in Donbas
 
. .
26 November 2016
http://www.unian.info/war/1645802-d...ournalists-deported-from-eastern-ukraine.html

The militants of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) terrorist organization say they have expelled two journalists with Russia's independent TV channel Dozhd from territory they control, accusing the men of "biased and provocative" coverage of the conflict there, according to Radio Liberty.

Separatist authorities in Donetsk said in a November 25 statement that they had "deported" Dozhd journalists Sergei Yerzhenkov and Vasily Polonsky. The announcement came after the TV channel said it had lost contact with the two men, RFE/RL reported. The statement accused the journalists of conducting "illegal journalistic activity" in areas of Donetsk controlled by the separatists, who have been fighting a bloody war with Ukrainian forces that has killed more than 9,600 since April 2014.

Dozhd is known for its critical coverage of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has denied accusations by Kyiv, NATO, and the EU that the Kremlin is backing the separatists despite substantial evidence of such support.


The channel also provides a regular platform for opponents of the Russian government. Dozhd said it lost contact with the journalists on November 25 after Polonsky reported that he had been detained by separatist authorities. It added that the two men had received permission to report from the region both from the separatists and the Ukrainian government.

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http://www.unian.info/war/1645766-russian-proxies-attack-ukraine-37-times-in-last-day.html
26 November 2016

Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 37 times in the past 24 hours, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

In the Mariupol sector, the militants fired 152mm artillery systems on the village of Shyrokyne, as well as mortars, infantry fighting vehicles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms on the town of Maryinka, and the villages of Talakivka, Pavlopil, Novotroyitske, Shyrokyne, Lebedynske, Hnutove, Stepne and Vodiane.

In the Donetsk sector, Russia's hybrid military force opened fire from 122mm artillery systems on the town of Avdiyivka, as well as infantry fighting vehicles, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms on the village of Luhanske. In the Luhansk sector, the occupiers fired 120mm mortars on the village of Troyitske, and rocket-propelled grenades and small arms on the village of Krymske and Novo-Oleksandrivka.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/386699.html
Five Ukrainian soldiers were injured in the anti-terrorist operation zone as a result of shellings by the enemy on Friday, November 25, the Defense Ministry's spokesman for the ATO matters, Andriy Lysenko, has said.

"Yesterday, no Ukrainian servicemen were killed and five were wounded. It all happened during enemy attacks," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/386661.html

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych spoke in favor of withdrawal of the Ukrainian forces from the territory of Donbas and providing the region with a broad autonomy.

"I stand in favor of Donbas being a part of Ukraine and Ukraine's territorial integrity being maintained. In order to stop the bloodshed it is necessary to cease shooting, withdraw forces," Yanukovych said at a press conference in Rostov-on-Don.

He said that for peace to prevail in Ukraine it is necessary to "withdraw forces, declare amnesty and provide a broad autonomy."

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.
http://uatoday.tv/crime/battles-rage-on-in-volatile-donbas-warzone-814023.html
In their attack on the Mariupol sector, the militants used 152-caliber artillery to shell Shyrokyne, and mortars and APC to target several other villages and towns in the area.

Government-controlled Avdiivka, a traditional hot spot on the conflict zone map, was hit with 122-mm artillery.

The combatants also targeted several locations in the Luhansk region, using 120-mm artillery to shell the positions of the government forces.

As a result of the clashes, five Ukrainian soldiers were wounded overnight, Ukraine's Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.

In accordance with the Minsk agreements, withdrawal of troops is planned for today in Stanytsia Luhanska in Luhansk region.
 
.
http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/386715.html

Ukraine has no plans to conduct missile tests in the Kerch Strait, National Security and Defense Council Secretary of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov said commenting on the statement by the Russian Federal Agency of Air Transport of the alleged "violations by the Ukrainian side of Russian airspace during missile exercises", the NSDC press service reported.

"Russia's hysteria about Ukraine's alleged violation of all international agreements through unilateral decision to conduct missile tests in the 'sovereign air space of the Russian Federation', is devoid of common sense," the NSDC's press service quoted Turchynov as saying.

The NSDC secretary recalled that in accordance with all international agreements, the sovereign airspace of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea ends in the middle of the Kerch Strait, and further, to the west of the Strait lies the sovereign airspace of Ukraine.

Thus, all of the planned missile exercises are conducted by Ukraine in full compliance with its international agreements and obligations.


"That's why we ask the Russian Federation not to interfere with the testing through hysteria and provocations," Turchynov summed up

.
black_sea_map3.png

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/386718.html
Ukrainian Defense Ministry says no fighting, casualties in Mariupol sector on Saturday
26.11.2016


The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has refuted the reports by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic that militants attacked the Mariupol sector and killed five Ukrainian servicemen on Saturday.

"At about 10:00 a.m., the enemy started shelling our positions in the Mariupol sector first with small arms, then with grenade launchers and antitank grenade launchers, and later with heavy weapons. As of 12:30 p.m., the fire intensity lowered. There was no offensive, and no armed clashes were recorded," Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman for the anti-terrorist operation Oleksandr Motuzianyk told Interfax.

"Hence, the reports on our losses are also untrue," he said.

Motuzianyk also warned militants against attempts to accuse Kyiv of using mortars. "We are not using them, as we have pulled them back in keeping with the Minsk Agreements," he added.

Earlier Russian media reported with reference to the representative of the Donetsk People's Republic, Eduard Basurin, said that militants rebuffed an attack by Ukrainian government forces, killing five Ukrainian troops and injuring eight others. "Five of the enemy's troops were killed and eight others injured. An armored personnel carrier of the Ukrainian government forces was destroyed," he said.

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Interfax news
November 27, 2016
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=717480

November 27, 2016 13:53
KYIV. Nov 27 (Interfax) - The disengagement of the Ukrainian armed forces and militia in the Stanytsia Luhanska was again disrupted on Saturday, Borys Kremenetskyi, the Ukrainian head of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC), said.

The Trilateral Contract Group (TCG) reached preliminary agreement to separate combatants in this area on Saturday, November 26, but one of the these days the area came under fire once again, in breach of the Minsk agreements' requirement for ceasefire to hold in this area for at least seven days, he said.

"Three shell attacks on the area were carried out with the use of automatic grenade launchers, a 30-millimeter BMP-2 cannon, as well as rocket launchers and small arms," Kremenetskyi said on the 112 Ukraine television channel on Sunday morning.

It was reported that on November 23 the TCG Ukrainian representative Leonid Kuchma's press secretary Darka Olifer said that the TCG had determined that, if the Luhansk militia stick to the ceasefire, disengagement in the Stanytsia Luhanska area would be possible from November 26.

Kuchma himself, when asked the day earlier about a possibility of agreement to separate combatants in Stanytsia Luhanska, said there was some "some game" going on on this issue and "security problems were and remain at the forefront, and without having them resolved there is no talking of anything else."

On November 11 the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said that ceasefire was holding in two of the three areas set for disengagement, the exception being Stanytsia Luhanska. In view of this, neither party had begun removing forces and equipment there. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said then that while it was ready to remove its forces and equipment from the TCG-determined site in the Stanytsia Luhanska area, the enemy had failed to fulfill the necessary conditions for the process.
Ukraine_Donbas3-1.jpg

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14:12
One militiaman killed, several houses, boiler-room damaged in latest Ukrainian shell attacks - DPR
 
.
The majority of Dokuchaievsk residents confess the life in united Ukraine was way better


Ukraine's army has almost created a "kettle" where Russian proxies can lose control over the whole city of Dokuchaievsk.

Soldiers of the 30th brigade have recently destroyed two artillery systems and a new Russian radar locator there.

The city of Dokuchaievsk does not resemble any other city across the Donbas heath. It is surrounded by high spoil tips like a mountain chain. When militants tried to seize them, they were highly surprised the tips were controlled by Ukraine's ATO forces. On all three sides, the city is under fire control of 30th brigade of Ukraine's Armed Forces - a hop skip and a jump away from a full encirclement.


"Skala", an officer of 30th brigade: If requested, we have that opportunity.

If the command was announced, militants would be encircled and within two hours Dokuchaievsk would be Ukrainian.

The Ukrainian positions are located at the tips around the city and the front avoids it crescent. The only hill controlled by the enemy is called "Mordor".

-Why "Mordor"?
-Because they are orcs.

Ukrainian soldiers know well what the sentiments are that dwell around the city. Though, locals are not ready to raise a Ukrainian flag, the number of dissatisfied civilians with the self-proclaimed "republic" is reaching critical levels.

Valeriy Lubinets, head of Volnovakha regional council: Under the Minsk deal, our territory, our city. All ask why it still hasn't been freed. Locals want it to be liberated as soon as possible.

At the checkpoint near Dokuchaievsk, people wait in lines for hours to leave the occupied territory for pensions and goods.

-There is no work and prices are 5-6 times higher than in Ukraine.

-Is it possible?

-Come to see yourself.

It seems they voted not for such a future at the separatist referendum.

-Do you want to become reunited with Ukraine?
-Probably, 90 percent of people want it.

If people sincerely express these ideas, then hopelessness takes over their fear.

However, the task to return the city to Ukraine is not that easy. After losing their popularity among locals, militants are beefing up their military units in Dokuchaievsk. There, one can easily see soldiers bearing Russian insignias.

Ukrainian soldiers say that reunification must happen peacefully without a need to create an "encirclement" around Dokuchaievsk.

77a278ad7f41946018b8941b13a34386502dbbf1.jpg

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http://uatoday.tv/society/donbas-ba...nsk-area-casualties-on-both-sides-815033.html

Russian proxies ignite Luhansk sector, breaking another disengagement deal


Six Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in fighting in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, according to Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman for Anti-Terrorist Operation Col. Andriy Lysenko.

According to press officer, four soldiers were wounded during militant shelling in the village of Zhovte in Luhansk region, while another two were wounded in the Avdiyivka industrial zone near Donetsk.

Compared to previous days, the geography of military operations has expanded. In particular, Russian proxies once shelled the area of potential disengagement of troops near the village of Stanytsia Luhanska. Also in the afternoon, a series of gunfights was reported from the village of Zhovte. The battle lasted almost 4 hours and resulted in casualties among the Ukrainian troops.

385945623.jpg


As mentioned, Col. Lysenko said 4 soldiers were wounded near Zhovte, but local Ukrainian authorities give a slightly different picture. According to Luhansk regional military-civilian administration, 5 Ukrainian soldiers were wounded during the firefights in two different locations (Popasna and Novoaydar districts). Both sources say militants commenced attacks along the whole frontline in previously quiet Luhansk region. Col. Lysenko reports about 14 attacks, one of them included mortar shelling with 20 mines.

Joint centre for control and coordination stressed: militant shelling of Stanytsia Luhanska is one more "outright provocation to disrupt the process of disengagement of forces." Ukrainian forces were ready to withdraw from the area on Nov. 24, but the process was stopped by militant shelling. Yesterday's two fire raids defers the disengagement once again.

Ukrainian volunteers from ‘Back and Alive' Foundation added, that fights in Luhansk region continued overnight, and caused casualties among Russian proxies. "There was a fight near the villages of Krymske and Zholobok nightly. The separatists' hospitals received wounded. And maybe killed. No our losses there. Several nights in a row mortar fire resumed. The boys're saying: ‘They're nightmarizing well,'" volunteers report.

Col. Lysenko also informed about fighting in Donetsk region. Kremlin-backed militants commenced 5 attacks on the village of Luhanske and the industrial zone of the town of Avdiyivka, using mortars and light armour. "Ukrainian troops actively shooting in return," Lysenko assured.

In the coastal area near Mariupol the situation is traditionally very tense, but on the local level it got easier. Ukrainian troops report about 18 militant shelling here, only two of which were commenced with heavy weapons – mortars and artillery. Compared to the day before, called a ‘very hard day' with 37 attacks, Ukrainian troops say that "situation calmed down somewhat" during last 24 hours.

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http://uatoday.tv/crime/russian-pro...m-donetsk-and-capture-its-storage-814408.html

Czech humanitarian organization ‘Clovek v Tisni' (People in Need, PIN) has been banned from the Donetsk area in eastern Ukraine by Russian-sponsored militants, Reuters reports.

PIN was one of two international aid groups in the Donetsk area, helping residents with water and food supplies as well as home repairs ahead of winter.

"Local authorities (of Russia-controlled ‘Donetsk People's Republic' – UT) have taken immediate actions to close PIN's office including sealing the warehouse with humanitarian aid and ordering all international aid workers to leave the non-government controlled areas within 24 hours," PIN said in the

The ban was delivered on Nov. 25, with no reason given for the decision to take away the group's permission to operate in the region.

The aid group said it had provided food to 469,841 people this year in separatist-controlled areas of Ukraine, and provided material help or home repairs for over 100,000. It said it continued to operate in the Luhansk separatist area as well as on government-controlled territory.

‘Clovek v Tisni' is recognized as a legal aid organization by official Kyiv, and according to the order of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine from Sept. 30, 2015, it was granted a simplified verification procedure for its cargo on transit through the frontline to the militant-held territory.


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http://uatoday.tv/politics/russia-i...commanders-for-alleged-war-crimes-815003.html

Criminal probe against six Ukrainian armed forces commanders has been launched

Prosecutors in Russia have launched a criminal case against Ukrainian security agencies for alleged war crimes committed in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region, RFE/RL reported on Monday.

Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee, told journalists on November 28 that prosecutors have uncovered "previously unknown incidents" of artillery strikes on civilians by Ukrainian military forces.

As a result, a criminal probe against six Ukrainian military commanders has been launched, she said, naming Colonel Oleksandr Hruzevych, Lieutenant Colonel Mykhaylo Drapaty, Colonel Serhiy Panchenko, Colonel Serhiy Perets, and Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Horbatyuk.

The commanders are accused of "the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare." The officers "fulfilled the clearly criminal orders of senior officials of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry," Petrenko said.

Ukraine has not commented on the charges.

According to the United Nations, more than 9,600 people have been killed since the conflict between Kyiv and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine broke out in April 2014.

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.
Interfax news
November 28, 2016

20:03
Kyiv reports 20 instances of shelling of Ukrainian troops' positions in Donbas on Monday

16:35
DPR to hand over bodies of 2 deceased Ukrainian servicemen to Kyiv

15:13
Ukrainian Sushchenko charged with espionage to remain in Lefortovo detention facility until January 30

14:58
Kyiv needs creation of checkpoint in Zolote for military purposes - LPR

14:53
Six Ukrainian servicemen wounded in Donbas - Kyiv

14:35
Three Ukrainian servicemen killed while trying to break through into Komineternove - DPR

14:08
LPR insists on 'all for all' prisoner exchange with Kyiv

13:07
New incidents employing heavy weapons observed in Luhansk region, 5 Ukrainian servicemen injured - regional administration

12:29
LPR observes 6 Ukrainian army attacks over past day, 1 militiaman injured (Part 2)

10:36
DPR observes almost 260 attacks by Ukrainian army

10:08
Ukrainian army reports nearly 40 attacks on its positions in Donbas in past 24 hours

09:28
Kyiv accuses militia of thwarting disengagement of forces in Stanytsia Luhanska

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=6&id=717554

MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - The Russian Investigative Committee has brought war crime accusations against another five senior Ukrainian army officers, Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said.

"The department investigating the use of forbidden methods and means of warfare, the Russian Investigative Committee's Main Investigative Department, has established hitherto unknown facts of the Ukrainian army's artillery attacks on the civilian population of the Donetsk People's Republic," Petrenko told Interfax on Monday.

The case was opened against commander of the 53rd separate mechanized brigade Col. Oleksandr Gruzevych, commander of the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade Lt. Col. Mykhailo Drapaty, commander of the 128th separate mountain infantry brigade Col. Serhiy Shaptala, commander of the 40th separate artillery brigade Col. Serhiy Panchenko, and commander of the 56th separate mechanized brigade Col. Serhiy Perets, she said.

In the period from September till November 2016, the officers "fulfilled the knowingly criminal orders of senior officials from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and fired for effect heavy artillery weapons on civilian infrastructures, which were not designated as military targets, in populated localities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic," she said, referring to investigators.

"Those attacks took two lives and inflicted various injuries on more than 20 persons, while more than 100 residential buildings and other facilities were destroyed or damaged. It has also been established that, on June 25, 2016, commander of the 36th separate marine brigade of the Ukrainian Navy Col. Dmytro Delyatitsky and his subordinates fired heavy weapons on the town of Kominternove in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. They damaged a power transmission line, and two minors were killed by electric shock," Petrenko said.

A ceasefire regime imposed by the Trilateral Contact Group was in effect when those attacks were conducted, and that regime was repeatedly breached by the Ukrainian side, she said.

"Detectives have opened criminal cases against the aforesaid commanders of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under Part 1, Article 356 of the Russian Penal Code (the use of forbidden means and methods of warfare)," the spokesperson said.

In addition, charges have been brought in absentia against commander of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Lt. Col. Volodymyr Horbatyuk, who organized and led a precision artillery attack on the Petrovskyi district of Donetsk, during which a local woman was hit by shrapnel.

"The Investigative Committee is probing the aforesaid crimes, being guided by norms of international and Russian law, which allow criminal prosecution of foreign citizens who commit crimes outside our country in case they are not punished. What is more, there is no statute of limitation for such crimes," the spokesperson said.
 
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11:42 Nov. 29, 2016
http://uatoday.tv/politics/ukraine-...t-day-with-hot-spot-near-mariupol-815493.html

No sign of ceasefire in eastern Ukraine as 'Normandy Four' ministers meeting in Minsk

Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 38 times in the past 24 hours, and most of the attacks were recorded in the Mariupol sector in Donetsk region, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

"Russia's hybrid military force used 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and infantry fighting vehicles to shell the towns of Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, and the villages of Shyrokyne, Starohnativka and Talakivka. A sniper was also active in Maryinka, and the villages of Novotroyitske and Hnutove," the report says.

In the Donetsk sector, the occupiers opened fire with mortars, grenade launchers of various other systems, infantry fighting vehicles and small arms on the Ukrainian positions near the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Luhanske.

In the Luhansk sector, the militants repeatedly fired with mortars, infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons on the village of Krymske. The villages of Novo-Oleksandrivka and Novozvanivka were also under militant fire. Additionally, an enemy sniper was active in the village of Stanytsia Luhanska.

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http://uatoday.tv/crime/donbas-on-f...h-mortars-and-armour-many-wounded-815683.html

Russian proxies attacking on Luhansk and Mariupol directions, Donetsk area mortared


The situation in Donbas remained tense during the last day, Defense Ministry spokesman on Anti-Terrorist Operation issues Col. Oleksandr Motuzianyk reported at today's briefing. Major attacks of Russian proxies were commenced in coastal area – 22 fire raids reported there. 4 incidents included using heavy weapons, one attack launched with armour.

The day before, Russian-sponsored militants attacked Luhansk region, 11 attacks reported, including 4 with heavy weapons. The village of Krymske, for example, suffered 34 hits from mortar shells.
385948833.jpg


Donetsk region has only seen 5 attacks, but most of them with heavy weapons. Ukrainian troops report of 56 mortar shells hitting their positions. They also opened the return fire.

According to Col. Oleksandr Motuzianyk, five Ukrainian soldiers were injured during the last day. But this data may be incomplete: Luhansk regional administration report about four injured in their area solely (not including Donetsk and Mariupol directions).

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http://www.unian.info/war/1650496-u...5000-russian-troops-massing-near-ukraine.html

Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Ihor Dolhov says some 55,000 Russian troops are now massing near the border with Ukraine.

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"Currently, Russia has amassed about 55,000 servicemen near the Ukrainian border. The presence of the Russian regular army on the territory of Ukraine varies from 5,000 to 7,500 soldiers. In Crimea, this figure is 23,000 troops, of which 9,000 are on the administrative border," he said at the fifth Tiger Conference in Kyiv on November 29, LІGA.net reported.

According to Dolhov, a total of 1,000 soldiers of the Russian armed forces is stationed in Transnistria, a self-proclaimed republic on the southwestern border of Ukraine. "The buildup of [the Russian] forces and military infrastructure in Belarus near the Ukrainian border has been reported," the deputy minister said. As UNIAN reported, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it planned to send 80 times more soldiers and military equipment to Belarus in 2017 than in 2016.

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As of November 21, 2016, the number of Ukrainian soldiers who were killed during the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, was 2,145 people, according to the Ukrainian project "Dostup do pravdy" ("Access to the truth"), which cited data it received from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

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Of them, there were 691 servicemen who were enrolled in the army during partial mobilization rounds. Among the killed ATO servicemen there were 335 officers and 1,807 soldiers and sergeants.

The total number of the wounded was 7,091 soldiers, while non-combat losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were estimated at 487 people. As UNIAN reported earlier, five Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in fighting in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 38 times in the past 24 hours, and most of the attacks were recorded in the Mariupol sector in Donetsk region.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/387287.html
Ukraine will demand at the Minsk meeting of the 'Normandy Four' foreign ministers that nearly 60 prisoners held in districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions uncontrolled by Kyiv be released, Verkhovna Rada First Vice-Speaker and Ukrainian representative to the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko said.

"Ukraine insists on the soonest release of hostages, and we will prioritize this issue. We demand that 57 hostages confirmed by the individual districts be released right now. Ukraine will also raise the question of hostages held in Russia," she said on Facebook on Tuesday before a meeting of the 'Normandy Four' foreign ministers in Minsk.

According to the Ukrainian Security Service, the self-proclaimed republics are holding 108 Ukrainians hostage, but have confirmed the detention of only 57 persons as of yet, Gerashchenko said.

"We also insist on the immediate access of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the search for the missing; as of today, there are 495 names on that dreadful list," she said.

Ukraine is worried about daily violations of the truce and "will present convincing facts of those violations" and of the presence of Russian military hardware in Donbas, Gerashchenko said.

"Another important subject is an environmental catastrophe caused by Russia in Donbas, from water supply [there has been no water supply to Toretsk for a week] to similar situations, which the minister and the Ukrainian delegation will speak about today," Gerashchenko said.

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Interfax news

November 29, 2016


15:32
Kyiv to demand release of 57 prisoners by DPR, LPR at meeting of 'Normandy Four' foreign ministers

15:28
Four Ukrainian soldiers wounded in strikes - Luhansk regional authorities

15:13
DPR transfers bodies of 2 soldiers to Ukraine

15:11
Kyiv claims Russian troops come close to Ukrainian border

15:09
Five Ukrainian servicemen injured in Donbas in past 24 hours - Defense Ministry

15:02
Ukrainian army shells 17 populated DPR localities in past day, 1 militiaman killed

14:37
Donbas hostilities kill 2,145 Ukrainian army servicemen, injure over 7,000 - Ukrainian Defense Ministry

11:41
Ukrainian army resumes mortar shelling of northern suburb of Donetsk

10:56
Ukrainian army reports 38 attacks on its positions in Donbas
 
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http://uatoday.tv/crime/belarusian-donbas-militant-plotnitsky-ordered-to-shell-luhansk-815848.html

In an interview with Belarusian edition of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty a LPR [self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic] militant from the Belarusian city of Bobruisk gave an account of criminal orders to shell Luhansk city, issued by the LPR head Ihor Plotnitsky, recounted the key role of Russian military in seizure of Donbas territories and told about his unimpeded movement to Belarus and back to eastern Ukraine despite president Alexander Lukashenko's pledge to prosecute mercenaries regardless of the side they fight on.

The 43-year-old reconnaissance platoon commander Sergey Bondar started his eastern Ukraine ‘career' in 2014 when he fought in the militant "Zarya" battalion. In a short space of time he found out that Luhansk militants shelled the city themselves.

"Two mortar rounds came from the foliage just in front of us. We were right there and started to comb the bushes. Two mortar men were just near us, they started to run – we opened fire," Bondar recalled.

"Then came a phone call, from Ihor Plotnitsky personally, he was the minister of defence at the time. He orders to immediately return to base. I say: "We are about to take them! And he shouts: This is an order, go back right now!" added the Belarusian fighter.

After they returned Plotnitsky ordered them to surrender weapons.

"Even before we had a suspicion that the mortar men were Plotnitsky's people. It was necessary to fire to sow panic. Mortar men were all former policemen from Luhansk. They were specially trained operating mortars, and they knew the city like their bunch of fives. They moved around Luhansk by ambulances, water carriers, by any vehicle," said Sergey Bondar.

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After the incident, the Belarusian mercenary joined the so-called "Batman" rapid response group [its commander Alexander Bednov was liquidated on January 1, 2015] where he got more evidence of LPR militants' involvement in Luhansk shelling.

"Once I personally captured a spotter. We threw him in a basement, I drew up a report. Three days later I was told that Plotnitsky's people came and took him away, and that he was freely walking around Luhansk. I went to Bednov and told him about it, but he just waved off," Bondar summed up.

As the interview proceeded the militant told journalists that it was already his third come back to Belarus from Donbas, and he was not afraid to be arrested because he fought for the right cause - "against fascism." Once he was even interrogated by Belarusian security service officers, who were interested whether he had been fighting for money.

"I replied that I had been fighting for ideological reasons. They asked whether I was engaged in combat action, whether I killed. I looked at them and thought: Are you fools? I am a reconnaissance platoon commander!"

When asked by the Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty journalist, Bondar said he did not know exactly how many Ukrainian soldiers he had killed.

"I did not count them. How can I know how many I killed? A sniper can say for sure: one shot - one killed. Burst fire can immediately kill five. Battle is going on and so you shoot," he explained.

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Off the record, the militant confirmed that the rise of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk Republics, which Ukraine officially considers terrorist organizations, would be absolutely impossible without Russia's military and financial support.

"Who helped to defend Luhansk in 2014? Russian army did. They deployed Grads, Smerchs [multiple rocket launchers] and even Tochka-U [tactical ballistic missile complex]. Some of them did not know that they had crossed the border. They were told that they went on exercises," he said.

Now, according to the Belarusian mercenary, there are no Russian military units in Donbas, but instead the LPR/DPR militants are commanded by regular Russian army officers who are sent there for "temporary duty trips."

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http://uatoday.tv/politics/minsk-ta...wants-russia-to-liberate-hostages-815838.html

Earlier Iryna Gerashchenko stated: "Before the beginning of the talks Pavlo Klimkin, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has underlined that the Ukrainian delegation is going to raise the security and humanitarian issues as the key priority. The Ukrainian representation is deeply concerned with the fact that the checkpoint Zolote has been blocked since March 2016. The Minister has pointed out today that he is ready to invite his colleagues Steinmeier and Ayrault to the opening of the checkpoint. Maybe they will influence the Russians to put pressure on the representatives of the militants to stop torturing civilians and to open the checkpoint at last."

She also stressed, that Ukraine insists on liberating hostages as fast as possible. "We will raise the issue as the key priority. We demand immediate release of 57 hostages who are confirmed to be kept on the militant-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Ukrainian side will also raise the issue of the Ukrainian hostages held captives in the Russian Federation. According to the information of the Security Service of Ukraine 108 hostages are held by militants, but their representatives confirm only 57 Ukrainians in captivity. We also insist on providing the immediate access of the ICRC to the occupied territories to search for missing persons. 495 persons are at the lists of missing persons," Gerashchenko wrote.

Another important issue Ukraine is concerned with are the daily violations of ceasefire and the possibility of the ecological disaster in Donbas provoked by the Russian Federation. It includes "the issue of water supply (Toretsk has had no water supply for a week) and other issues that will be raised today by the Minister and the Ukrainian delegation".

As for the other sides, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier ahead of international talks said there is little chance of major progress on ending fighting in eastern Ukraine, Reuters reports. "I don't think it's a big secret that the expectations of Mr. Steinmeier for the meeting tomorrow are modest. Neither the intensive pre-negotiations and discussions of the last months nor the public statements made by the parties provide much hope for a sensational breakthrough," Ministry's speaker Martin Schaefer explained his boss' attitude.

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New or restored Russian military bases on Ukrainian and Belarusian borders (Map by Free Beacon)
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http://uatoday.tv/politics/russia-a...ne-provocations-in-belarus-feared-815928.html

"Currently, Russia has amassed about 55,000 servicemen near the Ukrainian border. The presence of the Russian regular army on the territory of Ukraine varies from 5,000 to 7,500 soldiers. In Crimea, this figure is 23,000 troops, of which 9,000 are on the administrative border," Deputy Defense Minister Ihor Dolhov said at the fifth Tiger Conference in Kyiv on November 29, UNIAN reports referring to LІGA.net.

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http://uatoday.tv/crime/motorola-was-shot-and-then-blown-up-816473.html

Russian mercenary in Donbas Arseniy Pavlov, also known as Motorola, and his bodyguard could have been shot dead in the elevator, with the two bodies being blown up afterwards in an apparent attempt to cover the details and blame ‘agents from Kyiv'.

This is according to Ukraine's news agency Ukrinform, which claims to have seen ‘a report' of the ‘forensic expert center' of the militant ‘Interior Ministry', allegedly obtained by Ukrainian hackers.

According to the report, the militants found 5.45 mm bullets, several grenades, a Makarov handgun and an AK-74 at the site, in addition to personal weapons of the killed combatants.

The bullets and other discoveries were taken away by the so-called military prosecutors and ‘the Ministry of the state security'. Chief of the ‘forensic expert center' claimed the findings were not examined.

‘The organization of such an operation in the middle of occupied Donetsk as well as the attempts of the militant so called law enforcers to conceal all aspects might mean Russian special services were involved in terminating yet another commander, who had known a lot or gone against the policy of the Russian authorities', ex-officer of a Ukrainian special service told Ukrinform.

In October Donetsk militants announced the death of warlord Pavlov, saying he was blown up in the elevator in his house.

Ukraine and the separatists accused each other of organizing the assassination.

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http://uatoday.tv/crime/militant-s-tanks-and-mortars-pounding-donbas-1-soldier-killed-816628.html

Ukrainian forces report 1 soldier killed and 2 wounded in Donbas over the past day, speaker of Ukraine's Defense Ministry on Anti-Terrorist Operation Col. Andriy Lysenko reported. He said that the soldier was killed in Kamianka near Donetsk, while the two troops sustained wounds in enemy attacks near Novozvanivka in Luhansk region, UNIAN reports.

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According to the press center of the ATO Headquarters, Ukrainian positions came under fire 31 times over the past day. At the same time the terrorists fired at a number of settlements from different types of weapons, including banned arms. For example, Luhansk and Donetsk areas suffered only six and four attacks respectively, but half of them – with heavy weapons.

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http://uatoday.tv/society/pro-ukrainian-blogger-arrested-in-militant-held-luhansk-816693.html

Russian-backed militant arrested a pro-Ukrainian blogger Eduard Nedeliayev in the occupied city of Luhansk. He is allegedly accused of a cooperation with Ukrainian secret services and the battalion "Aidar".

As the so-called "Ministry of state security" of the non-recognized "Luhansk people's republic" claims, the man was posting extremist materials on social media.

Luhansk militants shared a video of his arrest and a search of his apartment. They found many radio-transmitting types of equipment and explained the fact with Nedeliayev's subversive activities - he was allegedly using the revealed devices for spying and conveying data to Ukrainian secret services.

However, as Luhansk residents write on their social networks about reasons of the arrest, the blogger was showing "the real life" in Luhansk and was not afraid to express his pro-Ukrainian position.

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Interfax news

November 30, 2016

20:28
Ukrainian side to prioritize captives exchange at meeting of Contact Group in Minsk on Dec 7

19:51
Kyiv reports 17 instances of ceasefire violation in Donbas in past 24 hours

14:23
One Ukrainian serviceman killed, 2 injured in Donbas - Kyiv

13:26
Compromise on Donbas security zones has yet to be reached - source

KYIV. Nov 30 (Interfax) - Two Ukrainian soldiers were injured and another one was shell-shocked during an attack on Ukrainian army positions near the villages of Novozvanivka and Novooleksandrivka in the Luhansk region, the Luhansk regional state administration said on Wednesday.

The attacks employed 82mm mortars, anti-tank grenade launchers and anti-tank missile systems, it said.

In addition, the village of Krymske in the Novoaidar district twice came under attack of 120mm and 82mm mortars, the report said.

The administration reported two attacks on Ukrainian positions near Stanytsia Luhanska using automatic and anti-tank grenade launchers, heavy machineguns and small arms.

11:23
Kyiv reports 31 militia attacks in Donbas

11:22
DPR, LPR hope to set prisoner swap in motion

11:03
Ukrainian army shells number of DPR towns, checkpoint near Horlivka at night - Donetsk

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The Ukrainian marines took part exercise on board ‘Yuriy Oliferenko’ landing ship (U401). They worked out different training tasks.

In Izmail the black berets were responsible for security of the meeting of Ukraine’s Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ihor Voronchenko and Chief of Romanian Naval Forces Staff Vice Admiral Aleksandru Mirsu.

When returning to the permanent base, they carried out landing and search and reconnaissance actions.

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