RNBO: News & Analysis Center July 10 Update

byInformation center of the National Security Council

11/07/2014

3 minute read

Military action in the conflict zone

Militants shot up an ATO forces checkpoint in Sievierodonetsk on July 10. After firing a number of times at the Ukrainian servicemen, the militants turned their mortar in the opposite direction and began to shoot at the residential areas of the city. According to eye-witness reports, there were no casualties among the civilian population, but several of the city’s buildings and other structures were damaged. This treacherous tactic the terrorists clearly used to turn locals against the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andriy Lysenko, spokesperson for the National Security Council’s News & Analysis Center, reported at the Center’s evening briefing July 10, 2014.

According to Lysenko, the ATO forces have undertaken a wide range of measures to block and reduce the territory that remains under the control of the terrorists. Specifically, Armed Forces personnel and the National Guard managed to block some of the militant forces at the Siversk-Lysychansk border.

ATO units have set up a new network of checkpoints and have maximally restricted the movement of the militants, forcing them to reduce their resistance and flee from Siversk Artemivsk County in Donetsk Oblast. At the moment, the ATO operation remains active in this area. As they hurry to get away, many of the militants are dropping their weapons, and leaving artillery and equipment behind. Some are surrendering.

Today, militants also shot with mortar and guns at Donetsk Airport, which is currently under the control of the Ukrainian Army. Their attack was successfully repelled with no casualties on the Ukrainian side.

Population centers in the conflict zone

Military sappers continue to defuse mines in various infrastructure in those settlements abandoned by the terrorists. Working around the clock and at considerable risk to their lives, these men are removing mines from highways, buildings and other vital infrastructure in eastern Ukraine.

So that the residents of liberated towns might return to their homes as soon as possible, engineering brigades are laying down routes for the delivery of humanitarian freight and providing the conditions for repair brigades to work to recover destroyed infrastructure. Just in the last few days, sappers have defused nearly a tonne of TNT, almost 10 hand-made bombs, and 20 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted by the terrorists. While de-mining administrative and residential buildings, roadways and bridges, soldiers in sapper units are dealing with a wide range of modern methods of mining and setting explosives, which again testifies that terrorists have the assistance of professionally trained explosives specialists.

The terrorists appear to be aware that they cannot win against the ATO forces in open battle, so they continue to hide behind “live shields.” Under cover of the local population, ordinary they set up firing positions in densely-populated areas. For instance, in the town of Snizhne, Donetsk Oblast, a position was set up for an APC near the Furshet supermarket and near the Pension Fund of Ukraine administrative building, as well as caches for weapons and the “command.” The terrorists also took over the local recruitment office and established a base for mortar and trucks. In addition, the militants have used a local church and fire station for their mortar teams and have organized well-camouflaged gun emplacements in the dome of the church.

News has come that Russia is considering nearly all Ukrainian citizens who cross the Ukrainian-Russian border refugees. Meanwhile, the State Border Service of Ukraine reports that not one citizen of Ukraine expressed the desire to obtain refugee status in Russia while crossing the border. The general flow of passengers and cargo at the Ukrainian-Russian part of the border plunged 50% in recent months and 18% fewer Ukrainian citizens are crossing into Russia.

Still, Russian media and individual RF officials continue to insist that all Ukrainians who head to Russia are refugees. Of course, that upsets Ukrainian citizens who are crossing the border to visit their family, for private and business matters, or to simply travel as tourists.

Source: mediarnbo.org

Translated by Lidia Wolanskyj

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January 22: Whereas Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov said again, mockingly, that he yet needs to be presented with any evidence that Russian army is indeed fighting in Donbas

January 22 – On August 24th, 2014 (Independence Day of Ukraine) Putin's army entered Ukrainian Donbas en masse and started its offensive. On January 22nd, 2015 (Day of Ukrainian Unity – celebrating the unity of Eastern and Western Ukraine) Putin's army has ostentatiously "conquered" a symbolic Ukrainian site – Donetsk airport – today Ukrainian military left behind most parts of the airport. Whereas Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov said again, mockingly, that he yet needs to be presented with any evidence that Russian army is indeed fighting in Donbas.

January 22 – 10 Ukrainian military were killed and 16 wounded in ATO on January 21st, – informed the spokesman of the General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces Vladyslav Seleznyov.

January 22 – Whereas NATO would like to re-establish communication with colleagues from the General Staff of the Russia's Armed Forces, – stated Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations, US General Philip Breedlove (Reuters).

January 22 – The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov hasn't ruled out offensive operations by the militants in the near future (stated by Turchynov as a result of his visit to the war zone, according to NSDC press-service). "New terminal has been almost completely destroyed, but our Armed Forces have strengthened their positions near the village of Pisky and inflicted a series of very strong assaults", – said Turchynov.

January 22 – Militants of the terrorist group "People's Republic of Donetsk" have "paraded" captive Ukrainian soldiers along the streets of Donetsk. Abuse of prisoners and torture of prisoners violates Hague Convention on the rules of military operations (The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907). Abuse of prisoners is punishable under Hague Tribunal. Instead, Ukrainian government is trying to start negotiations on the release of prisoners of war captured at Donetsk airport, – informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

January 22 – Self-proclaimed leader of Donetsk-based terrorists Oleksand Zakharchenko has said that they intend to "push the frontline" further from Donetsk. It has been previously reported that in September 2014, when explaining the invasion of the city of Novoazovsk and other areas by the militants and disguised Russian soldiers, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that the main objective of the militants is "pushing the frontline further".

January 22 – In Donetsk, the terrorists fired at a trolleybus with a mobile mortar, killing seven civilians. The site of the attack is located 20 km from Donetsk airport. For several days now, the terrorists have been travelling around Donetsk in a van with a mortar, shooting at residential areas, trying to encourage the residents to take up anti-Ukrainian views.

January 22 – During the meeting in Berlin of the heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the countries of the "Normandic foursome," progress was made only regarding one issue of the Minsk agreements. This was written by Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pavlo Klimkin on his page on Twitter. "Yesterday in Berlin there was a Borodino – a diplomatic battle, which no one won or lost. We made one step forward on one point of Minsk agreements," he wrote. According to him, it concerns a ceasefire.

January 22 – Facts confirm that Russia is directly involved in the army operation in Eastern Ukraine. This was stated by the President of Lithuania, Dalia Hrybauskaite to the Lithuanian journalists during the Davos Forum, writes Delfi.lt. "This is open territorial aggression, carried out not by some terrorists-seperatists, but by Russia itself, because neither the separatists nor some other people can have such weapons. These cannot be bought at the market or on the street; they are very specific – they can only be owned by big countries," she emphasized. "All the more, there are direct indications that not only the weapons, but the army itself (Russian), its subdivisions are involved," said Hrybauskaite. According to her, Russian representatives are openly lying about the situation in Ukraine. "We really see an enormous demonstration of lying when they say one thing and do something totally opposite, when they blame one side, but, it turns out, that the obligations are not being fulfilled by the other (side)," said the President of Lithuania.

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