February 12 has been a relatively inactive day at the frontlines of the Donbas according to reports by residents of the frontline cities. Ceasefire violations took place but they were sporadic and nothing like long-lasting hostilities has been reported. The press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters summarized the military activity of the recent days in the Donbas:
The enemy has returned to their ordinary tactics of “harassing shellings”, mostly overnight.
The only report in the morning (all time EET, GMT+2):
09:55 Makiivka: Again a single sound of war outdoors [=boom]
Sporadic activity has been reported later:
12:15 Novhorodske: Horlivka started to fire somewhere, not in my direction [=far outgoing rounds heard from the east] 12:37 Donetsk: I guess since 4 a.m. sporadic far outgoing rounds have been heard
Afternoon and evening in Donetsk:
15:00 Donetsk – Vetka, Tekstilschik, Azotnyi: Cannonade in the north
16:20 Donetsk Kyivskyi district: The north became noisy: single booms, gunfire, mostly in the airport direction, lasted for about 30 minutes
16:26 Donetsk Kirovskyi district: From the north, barely heard gunnery reaches us from afar, single rounds
16:54 Donetsk: Suddenly, shooting has started in the north – medium heavy guns and small arms…
17:00 Donetsk Durna_Balka: Booms in the northwest, like light ones
17:00 Donetsk Machinery plant: 15m ago, single [rounds] in the north, northwest, about 7 of them
18:43 Donetsk Larinka: They are hunting UAV [=AA-gun fire] 19:15 Donetsk Butovka mine: Skirmish, single booms
19:28 Horlivka: I can hear distant sounds of heavy cannon
19:33 Horlivka: Afternoon I heard the sounds of heavy artillery from the direction of Svitlodarsk Bulge
19:53 Donetsk: All in all, as of now it is almost quiet west of the city. Gunfire at Trudovski, but it is not the issue
One massive explosion was heard in Khartsyzk and Shakhtarsk, east of Donetsk far away from the frontline:
~20:00 Khartsyzk: Something boomed once, strong
~20:00 Shaktarsk: A great blast wave, it wasn’t tangible at the settlement of the mine no. 20
Short mortaring in the area of occupied Dokuchaevsk, south of Donetsk:
20:15 Dokuchaevsk: Mortars make noise at the ettles
20:20 Dokuchaevsk: Ongoing battle in the area of an ettle
20:20 [Dokuchaevsk area]: Olenivka can hear Yasne. Lyubivka can hear the Dokuchaevsk direction
Nothing has been reported from Luhansk Oblast and Mariupol area.
Two Ukrainian servicemen wounded on February 11
On February 11, the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters recorded 59 attacks on Ukrainian positions in the Donbas. 2 Ukrainian servicemen have been wounded in action. Reportedly, heavy artillery was not used for attacks. Russian-backed forces used 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, large caliber machine guns, BMP cannons and assault rifles, according to ATO HQ.
As of 18:00, February 12, the ATO HQ reported 33 attacks, including one attack in Luhansk Oblast and several attacks in the vicinity of Mariupol, but no heavy arms were used according to them.
Prime minister speaks out against trade blockade of the Donbas
The Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman expressed his opinion on the civil trade blockade of the Donbas once again:
Щодо ситуації із блокуванням залізниці на Сході України – ми не можемо допустити блокування постачання вугілля, якому немає альтернативи.
— Volodymyr Groysman (@VGroysman) February 12, 2017
Translation: “As for the situation with the blocking of railways in eastern Ukraine, we cannot tolerate the blocking of supplies of coal, which has no alternative.”
A day before on air of Ukraina TV channel he said:
We all need to come together and solve the problem. I would divide it into several parts. We know that Ukraine consumes 24 million tonnes of coal per year, of which 9 million tonnes is anthracite coal, produced in the territory that remains uncontrolled
Groysman recalled that one-third of Ukraine’s electricity for households is produced by thermal power plants operating on coal and transition to gas would lead to higher utility prices.
Meanwhile, the Headquarter of the blockade plans to gather the Viche (popular assembly in Rus and traditional Sunday assembly at Maidan) in Kyiv on the next Sunday, their statement reads:
Corrupt pro-Russian authorities seek solutions to squash the Blockade of the Trade on Blood and to place Ukraine under “the effective control of the Russian Federation”…
The Headquarter initiates a civil discussion about the Blockade of the Trade on Blood at the People’s Viche on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square)… We want to place Ukraine under the effective Ukrainian control.
