Ukrainian MiG-29 shot down near Lugansk
2014-08-18
Posted by: badanov
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
News reports from both Kiev and from pro-Russian sources say a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet was shot down over Lugansk Saturday, according to various Russian and English language Russian sources.
According to the Ukrainian government, the pilot ejected and was safely retrieved.
The MiG-29 is a multirole fighter that can be used as a ground interdiction aircraft as well as an air superiority aircraft. Since Russian nationalists in Lugansk have antiaircraft means no more advanced than man-packed missiles, it is likely the pilot was hit by gunfire before he ejected.
Ukrainian artillery units continue to pound Donetsk. According to news from the pro-Russian Voice of Sevastopol, 70 individuals have been killed in Donetsk in the last three days because of Ukrainian artillery.
Ukrainian artillery also has been hitting the Chervonogvardeysky district of Makeevka, which is a suburb of Donetsk. Artillery strikes were reported also in the Nizhnyaya Krinka, Kiev districts of Donetsk.
Krasnodon, in Lugansk oblast, about 16 kilometers northeast of Lugansk itself, an airstrike was launched against unspecified targets
By contrast, Lugansk was not hit by artillery. All was reported calm.
In Grabskoye, about 13 kilometers east of Donetsk, a Ukrainian police unit dubbed "Black Hundreds" has reportedly been destroyed by Russian nationalist units after being surrounded. A total of 130 Ukrainian police were killed in the fighting. Pro-Russian militia say the unit was using Tochka-U tactical ballistic missiles in their defense.
The moniker "Black Hundreds" refers to a ultra-nationalist pro-monarchy political movement known for pogroms against Jews and other non-Russians.
According to the Russian blogger Colonel Cassad, Ukrainian forces south of Krasnii Luch are surrounded and unable to resupply, but he did not identify the units. The situation for Ukrainian military units is that a new offensive is expected to develop to relieve those forces, taking troops from another sector, Ilovaisk to the north.
Krasnii Luch, east of Donetsk has been a severe point of contention between Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces for at least two weeks, as it is the point that the Ukrainian military has decided that Donetsk will be cut off and finally surrounded. Despite several repeated attempts, the Ukrainian military hasn't really even come close to achieving investment of the Donetsk area, and has instead apparently decided to shell the city instead.
Similarly in the area of Krasni Luch, as in other areas in the south Ukrainian military units wrecked by fighting pro-Russian nationalists are surrendering to the militias along with their heavy equipment. The problem for the militias is that due to a lack of fuel and spare parts as well as the personnel to operate vehicles, those prizes are worthless.
According to the blogger report, the only area in which the Ukrainian military maintains any "operational initiative" is in the Gorlovka area, northeast of Donetsk where the Ukrainians enjoy a superiority in armor.
In fact, a Ukrainian tank unit broke through the Zhadanoka Saturday, which is about 12 kilometers northeast of Donetsk. But as with other armor attacks, pro-Russian nationalist militias are seeking to cut off supply to those units, and then work in liquidating them over time.
Chris Covert writes news for Rantburg.com
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