Ukraine Revolt/Civil War News, Reports, Data, etc.

Dannhill

Junior Member
The militia claimed that Kiev is making a mockery of the "withdrawal" of heavy artillery.

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The fictitious retreat

The overall mechanism is the following: under the cameras of the OSCE representatives or of the Ukrainian journalists (for the Ukrainian media), the Ukrainian artillery and "Grads" take off their positions and drive away from the front line. After this, in 3-5 km, they make a turn and return to the backup positions (typically, prepared in advance, which suggests a systemic nature of such "maneuvers") near the front line. There they are additionally camouflaged and stand ready to open fire. Another level of masquerading this process is the retreat of mostly useless 100 mm "Rapiers". The main efforts are focused on preserving heavy artillery and MLRS at the front.

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So that is more clear how this looks like: here is a scheme of the maneuver in the area of the settlement of Bugas of the Volnovakha district (where there is ongoing accumulation of manpower and materiel for a probable strike in the area of Dokuchayevsk and Yelenovka – at this time up to 12-15 thousand people and a significant amount of armor are concentrated there). The weapons that are being pulled back are concentrated to the west of Bugas and once everything that is necessary has been recorded on camera, the artillery returns, making a circle of sorts in the area of Bugas.
According to the locals, the standard situation looks approximately as follows: on February 27th at 12pm, in the presence of the OSCE observers (two white cars with large letters OSCE), about ten "Urals" with D-30 howitzers drove by. On the road after Bugas the cannons were detached. IFVs arrived from the side of Volnovakha, attached the howitzers and towed them not even to the backup but to the old positions through the local gullies. In the end, the OSCE formally recorded the pullback of heavy artillery at Volnovakha, but in reality the cannons remained where they were. The AFU didn't even bother to prepare the backup positions for them.

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A similar situation is observed in Artyomovsk district. A column of D-30 howitzers and "Grad" MLRS passed through Artyomovsk in the presence of the OSCE observers. Officially, they are supposedly being pulled back from the front in the area of the Svetlodrask wedge and Popasnaya through Artyomovsk. In reality, after departing Artyomovsk from the west, these columns make a turn and drive to the north of Artyomovsk to the village of Vasyukovka, where the concentration of artillery systems, MLRS, and various armored vehicles is observed. Such a redeployment is accomplished in the interest of accumulating operational reserves necessary to support the front in the area of Svetlodarsk and Popasnaya and also for the case of possible attempts at offensive actions in this area. Overall, in the area of Artyomovsk and adjacent villages there are up to 2 battalion-tactical groups and various reinforcement units. By the end of the month it is expected that the Artyomovsk group of the enemy will increase to 3 battalion-tactical groups.

There is effectively no pullback to the south of Volnovakha. In the area of Granitnoye and Novoselovka a significant number of self-propelled artillery is noted in addition to the accumulation of infantry and tanks. In essence, in those places where the OSCE observers don't show up at all the junta doesn't even think about any kind of pullback, limiting itself to camouflaging artillery positions or at most to their redeployment. What's also remarkable: they try to repair those self-propelled artillery vehicles that require repairs and which can be repaired without sending them to the rear repair bases or factories close to the front. That is, even the need for repairs (not to mention the need for implementing the Minsk agreements) doesn't motivate the junta to send the faulty vehicles to the rear.

And these are far from being isolated cases. Instead, these are the elements of the general system of covert redeployment of the AFU artillery and MLRS, which directly violate the agreements achieved in Minsk on the subject of the pullback of heavy weapons. It is not like this gives some sort of decisive advantage, it is simply that in the case of resuming intensive military action, while the NAF will be returning the artillery that they pulled back (this is a matter of several hours), the junta may be able to achieve local superiority in artillery fire on some directions. On the one side, these are advantages of a tactical nature, but on the other side this shows perfectly well how the junta tries to deceive (which is far from being new by now) even in such obvious and easily exposable trivialities.
 

delft

Brigadier
From the website of my favorite radio station:
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DONETSK - De luchthaven van de Oost-Oekraïense stad Donetsk, in handen van de rebellen, is zaterdag bestookt met granaten.
De Organisatie voor Veiligheid en Samenwerking in Europa (OVSE) maakte melding van vijftig explosies in nog geen anderhalf uur tijd. Ook was er geweervuur te horen.

Volgens de OVSE werd het vliegveld onder vuur genomen, maar was niet duidelijk door wie. De organisatie is in Oost-Oekraïne aanwezig om te controleren of de rebellen en het leger zich houden aan gemaakte afspraken over een staakt-het-vuren en terugtrekking van zware wapens.

Waarnemers van de OVSE is zaterdag op vier plekken de toegang ontzegd door het Oekraïense leger. In de zelfverklaarde Volksrepubliek Loehansk is het team ook een keer tegengehouden. De rebellen hebben verklaard zaterdag alle zware wapens van de frontlinie terug te halen. Het Oekraïense leger zegt daar nog ongeveer een week voor nodig te hebben.
It says that the OSCE observers have reported that the airport of Donetsk has been hit by some fifty artillery shells in less than an hour and a half and that rifle fire has also been heard. It is unknown who fired.
On Saturday the OSCE observers were denied access in four places by the Ukrainian army and once in the area of the Luhansk Peoples Republic.
The rebels say they will remove their heavy weapons on Saturday. The Ukrainian army says it needs about a week.
 

Dannhill

Junior Member
Might this help explain the problem? More such cases in the OSCE report.

"-On the way to Svobodne (56km south-south-west of Donetsk), where the SMM planned to monitor a Ukrainian Armed Forces convoy, the SMM was stopped at a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint west of Volnovakha (51km south-south-west of Donetsk). The commander of the checkpoint requested and was told the names and nationalities of all the SMM monitors. The SMM repeatedly asked for permission to pass the checkpoint, but the commander said he was still awaiting permission from the brigade commander. The SMM decided to turn back towards Donetsk.

- At a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint in Volnovakha (51km south-south-west of Donetsk) the SMM was refused passage and had to change its route and had to proceed southwards to Mariupol. At a Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint located 2km north of Mariupol (115km south of Donetsk) the SMM was stopped again and had to wait for over 30 minutes. Not having received approval to proceed, the SMM decided to take an alternative route to return to Donetsk city.

- While on its way to a previously visited concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces site in the northern part of the Donetsk region, the SMM was restricted in its freedom of movement at a checkpoint – located 20km to the north-west from the junction of roads to Artemivsk and Soledar -manned by Ukrainian Armed forces personnel and thereby prevented to verify the withdrawal of the previously monitored heavy weapons

- While in “LPR”-controlled Parkhomenko (29km east of Luhansk) the SMM was stopped by “border guards” for a document check. The “border guards” asked for special authorization for patrols in the border area which they explained to the SMM as 15km from the contact line.
"


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Well, if that is indeed what is happening, the OSCE would have to be incredibly incompetent and/or complicit to sign off like that.
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
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Russia-backed female rebel fighters take part in a beauty contest involving women from the main separatist battalions in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, March 7, 2015. Self-proclaimed authorities in the rebel-held Donetsk held a beauty pageant for female rebel fighters on the eve of March 8, a women's day widely celebrated throughout the former Soviet Union

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"small beer" ... sure, I don't see many reports of internal conflicts in
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...

one more (I found out in the blog of "Cassad"
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):
the assassination attempt on
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(who was lightly injured yesterday afternoon after what was described by "Cassad" as three blasts of remotely triggered explosive devices -- directed at the car of Mozgovoy while it had to slow down at a checkpoint); what's kinda scary somebody in the discussion under that blog quoted his (or her??) blog "Night Before Daybreak. Last Days Of Aleksey Mozgovoy"
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dated
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21:32:00 and indeed saying Mozgovoy will get eliminated as "Batman" was (https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/ukraine-revolt-civil-war.t7103/page-35#post-321295)
 

pla101prc

Senior Member
Russia-backed female rebel fighters take part in a beauty contest involving women from the main separatist battalions in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, March 7, 2015. Self-proclaimed authorities in the rebel-held Donetsk held a beauty pageant for female rebel fighters on the eve of March 8, a women's day widely celebrated throughout the former Soviet Union
second one from the left, anybody got her contact info?
 

Dannhill

Junior Member
Multi currency system in use in the Donbass.

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Because the junta is not going to lift the blockade of Donbass, it is quite natural that the attempts of building their own financial system, which is adequate with respect to the existing realities in the people's republic, are being renewed. For now they have selected a compromise version, where several currencies can be used simultaneously on the territory of the LPR.

Major transactions in the LPR will use US dollars, minor ones — in rubles and hryvnas

Three major currencies will be used in the self-proclaimed "Lugansk people's republic" : hryvnas, roubles, and US dollars. Major transactions will use the American currency. This was announced by TASS on March 7th with a reference to the head of the LPR Igor Plotnitsky. "Smaller transactions will use hryvnas and roubles, bigger ones — dollars," — he said. "For now this is the way it will be, although, according to our polls the majority tends towards the ruble " — added Mr. Plotnistky. The head of the LPR also instructed the ministers to provide double price tags for all stores — in rubles and in hryvnas. The head of the LPR announced the decision to use multi-currency financial system due to rapid depreciation of the hryvna in the end of February.

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(in Russian) – link

PS. Actually, I'm quite familiar with double price tags in rubles and in hryvnas since Crimea of the times of the spring of 2014, when both the hryvna and the ruble were used simultaneously. However, after passing the appropriate political decision, the hryvna had disappeared from circulation quite quickly and only the ruble had remained. In Donbass it won't be that easy, of course, but open circulation of the ruble speaks very well of the fact that in practice Donbass continues to move away from Ukraine, turning into another unrecognized state entity. The choice of dollar as the main reserve currency is also obvious under the conditions of unstable state of the exchange rates of both the ruble and the hryvna. These measures will lead to legalization of a part of the black market in the nearest time.
 

Dannhill

Junior Member
English version of Cassad has more on the assassination attempt on the commander of the Ghost battalion:


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Attempt on Mozgovoy's life

"An assassination attempt against Alexey Mozgovoy was made!

The car with the brigade commander Alexey Mozgovoy was blown up in Alchevsk. Three directed explosive charges were activated. Alexey Borisovich received a light tangential shrapnel wound in the head. At this moment the brigade commander has received first aid and is feeling well.

According to the preliminary version, MON-50 directed mines were used.

Upd: As always, random chance and human factor helped. The explosive devices activated a second before they had to in order to inflict maximal damage. That is why the explosions hit the front part of the car rather than the passenger area, where the brigade commander was located.

The information is 100%,.. unfortunately." — writes Gleb Kornilov.

The details of the wound of the "Ghost" brigade commander Alexey Mozgovoy became known — the car in which he was located was blown up. The fighters already published a video from the location. The incident occurred on March 7th at about 17:00 on the way back to Alchevsk from Lugansk on the checkpoint at the exit from Mikhailovka. Three improvised explosive devices were engaged. Two of them were directed on the road, where the car with Mozgovoy was moving.

In an urgent video Mozgovoi said that he was warned about an attempt on his life being staged. "I'm not going to be pulled into a box with spiders. I'm not going to take revenge on anyone. I don't declare anyone to be my enemy," — said the commander. He also promised to continue fighting for people's power.
"All attempts to create chaos inside the republic will fail. The wound will heal, and the goal needs to be achieved," — said Mozgovoy.
"And thanks to what happened today, I have the opportunity to congratulate all women of Novorossia. I emphasize, not of the LPR and the DPR, but Novorossia. Sooner or later Novorossia will happen," — said the commander.

According to the preliminary report from sapper from the site of the explosion it became clear that the car was expected and its approach was seen from far away. The explosion was presumably launched by radio signal or by a cellular call. By a lucky accident, nobody died, the main charge passed by, the brigade commander Alexey Mozgovoy was lightly wounded and received a concussion.
Alexey Mozgovoy was brought to the Alchevsk city hospital and returned to his duties after he had been bandaged.

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(in Russian) – link

PS. I'm very pleased that Alexey didn't suffer seriously. He is one of those people who continue to push the idea of Novorossia and is in essence one of its living personifications.
It is not clear who staged this assassination attempt on his life. I think that if Alexey wants, then he will speak for himself on this topic. Naturally, according to Alexey's hints, they will look for the traces of this incident inside the LPR, because it is very hard to believe in the activity of the junta SRG in this case.
 
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