Civil war in Ukraine: News & discussion

[Hindustani78]

Russian military in Donetsk on photo near terrorist Zakharchenko

Ukrainian forces fight off attacks by pro-Moscow gunmen and Russian troops on Bakhmutka highway and Troitske| Ukrinform

KYIV, January 23 /Ukrinform/. On Thursday, Ukrainian troops fought off the terrorists' assaults on the Bakhmutka highway, near Krymske village 55 kilometers northwest of Luhansk, and near the village of Troitske, 90 kilometers northwest of Luhansk.

Dmytro Tymchuk head of the Center for Military and Political Studies reported the news on his Facebook page with reference to data by Information resistance group. "Enemy continued to attack near Bakhmutovka highway in the area of checkpoint number 29. Two massive attacks by gunmen were supported by their artillery shelling. However, the response by Ukrainian artillery units the enemy couldn't advance deeply towards Siversky Donets river, losing at least four of its armored vehicles units," Tymchuk says.

In the area of Troitske village a tactical group of Russian-terrorist troops accompanied by six tanks, 12 armored combat vehicles and reinforced infantry company assaulted the front line held by Ukrainian troops. The attack was fought off and the enemy retreated. “The gunmen evacuated their wounded and killed soldiers for several hours, Ukrainian commanders permitting,” the statement said.

Ukrainian artillery shelled convoy of Russian-terrorist troops made up from ten armored vehicles (tanks and armored fighting vehicles). At least one unit of armored vehicles was destroyed in the area of Slavyanoserbsk, 35 kilometers northwest of Luhansk. Tymchuk also reports that the enemy artillery group (cannon artillery and Grad MLRS) located west of Stakhanov, city located 45 kilometers west of Luhansk, massively shells positions of Ukrainian troops in Debaltseve bridgehead. There is accumulation of armored vehicles about 20 of armored vehicle units, including at least seven tanks located south of Stakhanov.

Movements of battalion task force staffed with Russian soldiers and supported by units of local gunmen towards Debaltseve bridgehead were detected. The battalion has up to 12 tanks, 25 armored combat vehicles, special operations vehicles, additional artillery.

Zakharchenko threatens full-scale war, says militants plan to take over all Donetsk region


"There will not be any attempts at peace talks from our side. Now we will look at the reaction from Kyiv. They seem not to realize that we can advance on three fronts simultaneously," Zakharchenko said.

"There will be no more ceasefires, no more rotations. There will be an exchange of prisoners, because we need to release our guys that are in captivity," he said.
"We will strike out until we reach the border of the Donetsk region. If I see any threat to the Donetsk area from any settlement, I will destroy the threat where it is," Zacharchenko said.

23.01.2015
Russian-backed militants have deployed Smerch multiple rocket launcher units in the north-west of the village of Makiyivka to provide supporting fire for militant units around Donetsk, head of the Information Resistance group Dmytro Tymchuk wrote on Friday on Facebook.

http://www.ukrinform.ua/eng/news/osce_coal_being_transported_to_russia_more_actively_328433

KYIV, January 23 /Ukrinform/. The OSCE observers have noted that much more coal was taken to Russia from Luhansk region across Gukovo border check point for the last week if compared to previous weeks.

This is stated in the weekly report of the OSCE Observer Mission at Russian checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk based on information as of January 21, 2015.

"Compared to previous weeks, during the reporting week the OM observed far more dumper trucks transporting coal from the Luhansk region to the Russian Federation," reads the report.

However, the Mission did not specify the number of trucks with coal.

When it's necessary, the politicans do things that are disgusting for many people - lies are one of them.

Dima Jaros - leader of 'Right Sector'

News came out that Russian Federation has banned the right sector and other Ukrainian groups


This list now also includes
'Ukrainian National Assembly
Ukrainian People's Self-defence' (UNA - UNSO)
'Ukrainian Insurgent Army' (UPA)
'Tryzub in the name of Stepan Bandera' and 'Bratstvo'.

Photo evidence of Russian soldiers in Ukraine

Formation of the next cauldrom for the Nazi forces.
View attachment 185761

Luhansk districts under Ukrainian control now without power - read on - uatoday.tv

Luhansk Governor Hennadiy Moskal says that Luhansk regional distructs still under the control of Ukrainian authorities are completely without power. The local power plant stopped operations at 14:00 on on 23 January due to artillery fire from Kremlin-backed insurgents.

"The whole region is without power. There is no hot or cold water. Trolleybuses have stopped running," - said Hennadiy Moskal in a statement.

 

[Hindustani78]

Members of the armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic drive a tank on the outskirts of Donetsk January 22, 2015.

Prisoners of war (POWs) from the Ukrainian armed forces, are escorted by members of the armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, as they visit a public transport stop, where civilians were earlier killed on Thursday, in Donetsk, January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Servicemen from the battalion Aydar carry a coffin bearing the body of their comrade Sergiy Nikonenko, who was killed in the fighting in Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine,during a funeral ceremony at the Independence Square in central Kiev, January 20, 2015.

Credit: Reuters/Gleb Garanich

United Nations News Centre - Death toll in Ukraine conflict exceeds 5,000, may be &#39considerably higher&#39 &#8211 UN
23 January 2015 – More than 5,000 people have now been killed since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in mid-April last year, the United Nations human rights office said today as it expressed fear that the real figure may be 'considerably higher.'

Escalation of hostilities since 13 January has raised the total death toll in the country to at least 5,086 and some 10,948 people have been wounded between mid-April last year and 21 January 2015, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

“In just nine days, between 13 and 21 January, at least 262 people were killed due to the hostilities. That is an average of at least 29 people killed per day. This has been the most deadly period since the declaration of a ceasefire on 5 September,” OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville said at a press conference in Geneva.

“We are concerned about the lack of implementation of the 12 provisions of the Minsk Protocol and the continuing presence of foreign fighters in the east, allegedly including servicemen from the Russian Federation, as well as the presence of heavy and sophisticated weaponry in populated areas under the control of armed groups,” Mr. Colville said.


“Civilians held or trapped in these areas are subject to a total lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law,” he added, reminding all parties to the conflict that international humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians and that the principles of military necessity, distinction, proportionality and precaution must be strictly respected.

 

[Hindustani78]

TASS: World - 88 Russian journalists expelled from Ukraine - adviser to Ukraine’s Security Council chief

January 23, 22:59 UTC+3

“Eighty-eight such (propagandists) have been expelled from Ukraine as of today,” Markiyan Lubkovsky, an adviser to the Ukrainian Security Council’s chief told the Ukrainian television Channel 5.

KIEV, January 23. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Security Service has expelled from the country 88 Russian journalists, Markiyan Lubkovsky, an adviser to the Ukrainian Security Council’s chief, said on Friday.

“Eighty-eight such (propagandists) have been expelled from Ukraine as of today,” he told the Ukrainian television Channel 5.

 

[Hindustani78]

Soldiers of 72-th separate mechanized brigade that is stationed in White Church today are active in anti-terrorist operations in Eastern Ukraine.

1st Battalion Task Force, formed on the basis of the 1st Battalion was transferred to Donbass.

Ukrainian Cyborgs at Donetsk airport on 22 January 2015

An Ukrainian officer examines an automatic grenade launcher UAG-40 during a presentation of the new Ukrainian military equipment, near Goncharivsk on January 23, 2015.

Ukrainian forces have pushed Russian-backed militants from checkpoint No. 31 north of the city of Luhansk, Donbas Battalion Commander Semen Semenchenko wrote on his Facebook page on Friday. 23rd January 2015

 

[ArsalanKhan21]

Ukraine forces were forced retreat by the Russian soldiers wearing Ukrainian rebel uniforms. The Russian wants to continue this civil war in order to distract people from its illegal annexation of Crimea.

Polish and Russians are Slavs. IMO Poland should be closer to Russia than to Germany.

The Russians have treated the Polish people as much as the Germans. They both divided Poland before the WW II. There is no Slav unity after Russia invasion of Ukraine. Only Serbia may support Russia but after joining EU they will also follow common EU policy.

 

[Carlosa]

A key day in the Ukrainian Conflict?

by Alexander Mercouris

This may turn out to be a critical day in the evolution of the Ukrainian conflict.

1. The Russian Security Council met today. We do not (obviously) have a full account but Putin's website has provided some details.

Strikingly, Putin referred to the junta as "official Kiev" and not "the Ukrainian government" or "the Ukrainian side". He also referred to the two east Ukrainian republics as "the Donetsk People's Republic" and "the Lugansk People's Republic".

This is the closest Putin has yet come to since Poroshenko's election in implying that the junta is not the legitimate authority in the Donbass and that the two NAF republics are.

2. Putin also pointedly referred to "criminal orders" coming from "official Kiev".

President of Russia

3. Putin has also had a telephone conversation with Lukashenko, who is a key partner in relation to the Ukrainian conflict. Again we have scarcely any information about what was discussed but Putin will have wanted to ensure that Lukashenko remains on board. I expect a phone call to Nazarbayev shortly.

4. We now know from comments made by Shuvalov at Davos that Beijing is being consulted all the time. The key point about what happened at Davos is that Shuvalov made it absolutely clear that Russia will not submit to sanctions and Kostin of VTB gave a very clear warning against any attempts to exclude Russian banks from the SWIFT payments system. The Financial Times has a good summary of the comments Shuvalov and Kostin made and I attach it below.

5. The Russian Justice Ministry meanwhile has formally banned a number of Ukrainian organisations including Right Sector. Some of us are surprised that they had not been banned already.

TASS: Russia - Russian Justice Ministry bans Ukrainian nationalist organizations in Russia

6. Zakharchenko has said that the Minsk Memorandum no longer applies. This is not the same document as the Minsk Protocol, which was the original ceasefire agreement that was agreed on 5th September 2014. Rather, it is the technical follow-up document that purported to set out the ceasefire line and which provided for the withdrawal of heavy weapons, which was agreed on 19th September 2014. Neither the Minsk Protocol nor the Minsk Memorandum have ever been implemented. By saying the Minsk Memorandum no longer applies Zakharchenko has freed the NAF to pursue offensive operations, which is currently what it is doing.

7. Lastly, Zakharchenko has also again been saying that the DPR's/LPR's decision to secede from the Ukraine is final.

Now it may be that all these discussions and conversations and comments are uncoordinated and do not in total amount to anything. Perhaps there has been no change in Russian policy. However they do look like a hardening of position and perhaps give clues that the Russians have at least for the moment given up hope of the diplomatic approach. They also suggest a preparation for a battening down of the hatches in case another round of sanctions is on the way.
----------------------------------------------------------------

From the Financial Times:

One of Russia’s top bankers on Friday warned that excluding the country from the Swift banking payment system would be tantamount to “war”.

The suggestion that Russia could be shut out of Swift triggered widespread alarm in Moscow’s financial community when it was floated by western politicians last summer. Russia’s banks rely heavily on the Belgium-based payments system for both domestic and international payments. However, the move was at the time considered too punitive a sanction, being described by one adviser as “the nuclear option”.

Speaking at a panel in Davos on Friday Andrei Kostin, chief executive of VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, said: “If there is no Swift, there is no banking . . . relationship, it means that the countries are on the verge of war, or they are definitely in a cold war.”

“The next day, the Russian and American ambassadors would have to leave the capitals,” he added.

Mr Kostin’s comments highlight how the west’s sanctions regime is creating a sense of anger and defiance among the Russian political and business elite.

“The more you press Russia, I do not think the situation will change,” he said, pointing out that the country was moving to reduce its reliance on western payment systems such as Swift.

“We have already created a domestic alternative to the Swift system . . . and we need to create alternatives internationally.”

He drew attention to efforts under way between Russia and China to create a separate platform of their own, outside western control.

Igor Shuvalov, Russia’s deputy prime minister, echoed this theme. “We are developing our eastern vector,” Mr Shuvalov declared, pointing out that although efforts to build links with China had been under way before the crisis, they had dramatically intensified since sanctions started, as Russia looked for alternatives to the west.

Mr Shuvalov said that the so-called Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) were ready to help each other in a financial crisis too. “Large Chinese investors are coming to us,” he said.

The “pivot to Asia” has become a key part of Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy since the breakdown in relations with the west over Ukraine. While several flagship deals have been signed, such as the $400bn contract to supply Russian gas to China for 30 years last May, few Russian policy makers or businesspeople believe China can save the Russian economy from a painful recession.

“The present situation looks like it is softer than [the 2008-09 financial crisis] but we are going into a long crisis situation and it may be protracted,” Mr Shuvalov said.

But he added that foreign pressure would not succeed in changing the political leadership of the country.

“We will survive any hardship in the country — eat less food, use less electricity,” he said.

Alexei Kudrin, the respected former finance minister, predicted Russia could see capital outflows of $90bn this year after a record $151bn in 2014. “We should clearly understand the price we are paying for sanctions,” he said.

POSTED BY VINEYARDSAKER

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015
Novorussian front January 23

Over the past 48 hours not much has changed.

Donetsk:

The airport is confirmed fully in Novorussians hands and the main combats are in the towns of Peski, Avdeevka, Krasnogorovka and Marinka which are shown in black on the map below:

Combats to protect Donetsk
In all these locations the Novorussian Armed Forces are on the offensive in order to push back the Ukrainian Repression Forces. If the Novorussian succeed in booting the Junta forces out of these cities they will have to operate an important retreat as the terrain behind these cities open steppes were the Ukrainian artillery cannot hide. In other words, if the Novorussians take these town the terror attacked on Donetsk will stop.
Gorlovka:
Gorlovka is still being hammered by the Ukrainian artillery which has resumed using cluster munitions.

Mariupol:

The Novorussian artillery regularly conducts strikes against the outskirts of the city were the Ukrainians have dug in.
The big news of the day is political: Zakharchenko has declared that the Novorussians are done taking prisoners and that they have no more interest in prisoner exchanges (which exchanged Ukrainian prisoners not for Novorussian soldiers, but for random citizens, criminal and even mentally retarded people).
In the meantime, the Minister of Defense of the Donetsk Republic has declared that 597 bodies have been recovered from the Donetsk Airport and that more are under the rubble. Keep in mind that what the Ukrainians like to call a "brigade" is usually a battalion-size force, about 600-800 men. In other words, it is quite possible that the entire 93rd "Zhitomir" Brigade whose commander was taken prisoner by the Novorussians has basically ceased to exit.
I would argue that it is quite possible that the Ukrainian front might break down and that the Novorussians could liberate a good part of historical Novorussia.
As for Poroshenko, he still promises a unitary Ukraine, only one official language and a total war against the "terrorists".
Regardless of the Kremlin's efforts to cool down the situation, I don't see any reason at all for the combats to stop. And since Voentorg is working at full capacity, there is a good chance that Moscow is still pretending that a negotiated solution can be found when, in reality, the Kremlin has already decided that no negotiated outcome is possible, at least not with the freaks currently in power in Kiev.
The Saker

POSTED BY VINEYARDSAKER:

Using untruth, telling some tales before elections - that's one thing, you can live with it. Rewriting history, manipulation of facts, such as statement of Yatsenyuk that the Soviet Union invaded Germany and Ukraine - is quite another matter. It is disgusting to humans and to God. This is inexcusable.

 

[vostok]

Video captured from 31 Nazis checkpoint.

20-22.01.15

 

[vostok]

Novorossians fixing armored vehicles captured from the junta.

 

[Alienoz_TR]

An Ukrainian officer examines an automatic grenade launcher UAG-40 during a presentation of the new Ukrainian military equipment, near Goncharivsk on January 23, 2015.

Something doesnt fit in the story. The map shows Crimea. Crimea is under Rus occupation.

 

[Hindustani78]

24 January 2015
Ten people killed in rebel shelling of Ukrainian city after Pro-Russian separatists reject peace deal and launch offensive

Shelling by pro-Russian rebels has killed ten people in Mariupol, Ukraine - just one day after the separatists rejected a peace deal signed last year.

Missiles struck the coastal city early this morning and destroyed residential buildings, an anti-rebel operation in the area says.

Alexander Zakharchenko, the separatists' leader, has vowed to expel Ukrainian troops out of the region entirely - and said the insurgents would take no further part in cease-fire talks.

Shelling: Missiles struck the coastal city of Mariupol (pictured) and destroyed residential buildings

Cut off: Emergency workers inspected a damaged bridge on January 21, following an overnight blast which severed the railway link between Mariupol and Ukraine's west

Offensive: Zakharchenko has said pro-Russian rebels (pictured) are advancing in three directions in Donetsk, in a bid to claim the city entirely

Russian-backed fighters shelled the Azov Sea port city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, killing 15 people, most of them civilians and wounding 46, according to the oblast's Interior Ministry. Also, separatists killed one Ukrainian soldier, according to Channel 5. Mariupol one of the key cities that remains under Ukrainian control.

Leo Sjöholm, a 31-year-old Swedish volunteer with the Azov Battalion, was killed in a car accident near the city of Berdyansk in Zaporizhya Oblast while on military duty on Jan. 8.

Pro-Russian terrorists fire 27 times in the Donbas conflict zone| Ukrinform

KYIV, January 24 /Ukrinform/.From 18.00 yesterday evening until 6.00 in the morning on Saturday, terrorists have carried out 27 attacks on the positions held by Ukrainian anti-terrorist operation forces near residential areas.

Illegal gunmen groups have used multiple rocket launchers systems, tanks, mortars, rocket launchers and artillery, the press center of the anti-terrorist operation has reported.

Bu using multiple missile launchers systems BM 21 Grad gunmen shelled four times the town of Shchastia, twice Novotoshkivka and villages of Triokhizbenka, Petrivka, Sanzharovka, Maryinka, Novozvanovke and Vrubevka. Mortars and artillery hit villages Stanitsia Luhansk, Opytne, Troitske, Tonenke, Sanzharovka, town of Popasna, Olkhove, Triokhhizbenka, Kamyanka, Krymske and Novotoshkovka. The Ukrainian positions located in the area of Shchastia were shelled seven times by gunmen," the report says.

An enemy's drone was seen in the sky over the villages of Chmyrivka and Nyzhne.

Additionally, the press center noted that illegal gunmen groups have continued their policy of terror against the civilian population of Donbas region. Within the last day, terrorists shelled thrice the residential areas of Shchastia and its power plants by using mortars and artillery.

One Ukrainian soldier killed, 20 wounded in the Donbas conflict zone in last 24 hours| Ukrinform

KYIV, January 24 /Ukrinform/. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and 20 servicemen were wounded in the Donbas conflict zone in last 24 hours.

Official spokesman for the anti-terrorist operation Andriy Lysenko told this news at a briefing on Saturday, Ukrinform reported.

"One Ukrainian soldier was killed and 20 servicemen were wounded in the Donbas conflict zone in last 24 hours," he said.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry: 15 killed, 46 injured in Mariupol shelling
Fifteen people have been killed and 46 others injured as Mariupol was shelled on Saturday morning, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said in a statement available on its website on Saturday.

"As many as 46 civilians sustained fragmentation wounds. Among those injured is a 12-year-old girl. Fifteen people have been killed," it said.

It was reported earlier that at least 10 people had been killed and 46 others injured in the artillery attack on Mariupol.

 

[Superboy]

Crimea is under Rus occupation.

Crimea is a Russian federal district. Crimea is not under Russian occupation.

Crimean Federal District - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[gau8av]

Leo Sjöholm, a 31-year-old Swedish volunteer with the Azov Battalion, was killed in a car accident near the city of Berdyansk in Zaporizhya Oblast while on military duty on Jan. 8.

good, burn in hell

 

[Hindustani78]

 

[Galad]

Ten people killed in rebel shelling of Ukrainian city after Pro-Russian separatists reject peace deal and launch offensive

What about stop with your lies?All withnesses said the same thing.Missilles came from side of area named "Old Crimea" where your beloved war-criminals from Kiev has their artillerry.Or alternatively keep posting "facts"streight from Goebbles Ministry of Truth in Kiev.

 

[Schutz]

What about stop with your lies?All withnesses said the same thing.Missilles came from side of area named "Old Crimea" where your beloved war-criminals from Kiev has their artillerry.Or alternatively keep posting "facts"streight from Goebbles Ministry of Truth in Kiev.

Why are you denying ANY wrongdoing on the Russians side, there are alot of inexperienced men firing weapons they have no training in, they will kill innocents aswell, its the case of whether or not any attacks are targeted in civilian areas. And if there was a famous false flag it would probably come from there side, WE HAVE NO RUSSIANS HERE, as brand new t72's with reactive armour stroll past in columns.