Pro Russian militias find mass graves in Donetsk
2014-09-28
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Donetsk city continues to come under Ukrainian artillery fire, and combatants have been fighting in localities northwest of Lugansk, while mass graves have been uncovered, according to the English language Voice of Sevastopol.
The graves were found last Monday near the town of Nizhnyaya Krinka, north of Donetsk city near Zhdanovka, and were discovered after Ukrainian police units had withdrawn from the area in accordance with the September 19th Minsk ceasefire.
The dead total 40, and include civilians, captured soldiers and women, according to various militia reports.
According to a report posted on the website of the Organization for European Security and Cooperation (OESC), a Special Monitoring Mission team was taken to the town and shown two graves totaling two bodies per grave. The team saw eight spent cartridge casings for a 9mm Makarov pistol, a caliber now in use by both sides and a "plaque" which contained the names presumably of four of the victims and the initials of a fifth. The plaque read; "Died for Putin's lies", and was dated August 26th, 2014. The uncovered bodies had undergone some decomposition.
The team was not able to make a forensic assessment of the site, said the report.
Ukrainian military authorities have denied any connection to the sites. It should be stressed the graves were uncovered as a Ukrainian military unit was withdrawn in observance of the truce, and presumably that was how the graves were discovered.
The OESC had a role in brokering the latest truce agreement and so it has teams on the ground to observe the progress of the truce.
Meanwhile, Donetsk has been under sporadic shelling by Ukrainian military forces since last Wednesday. Ukrainian military units have been occupying Donetsk airport for weeks and have placed artillery units there, according to information supplied by the Voice of Sevastopol.
Tuesday
A rocket artillery fire attack was launched early Tuesday morning, hitting the Leninsky and Kuibyshevsky districts in the area of the TV tower. Later that afternoon, at around 1355 hrs a tube artillery attack was fired which hit near the outskirts of Makeyevka. The attack was launched from the village of Avdeyevka. Two residences were destroyed. That evening more artillery hit, this time near the Putilovsky district in Donetsk city.
Indications are at the time of the latest attack some Ukrainian units were withdrawing from the town of Marinka, west of Donetsk, to the west to Kurakhovo.
Further west a Ukrainian mortar unit near Kamenka fired mortars near Kumashatskoye, wounding one militiaman.
Infantry fights were recorded as well in and around Donetsk, especially to the north of the airport. One exchange was recorded near the village of Avdeyevka, apparently as a Ukrainian unit attempted to withdraw from the area.
In Lugansk, about 15 kilometers northwest of Lugansk city, fighting continued near the town of Schastye, where some Ukrainian military units had withdrawn after a previous failed attempt to take Lugansk by storm. The issue is the bridge over the North Donetsk River, which both side are trying to gain control of.
Militias admitted that on Tuesday their units suffered the heaviest losses of September, as they are trying to increase the distance between Ukrainian artillery and Donetsk city.
Ukrainian blogger Roman Burko said that the afternoon battle was costly to the militia, and also said that Ukrainian military units were trying to withdraw to the west when the battle took place. Burko said the force that attacked was company sized, about 100 effectives. No losses were recorded by the Ukrainians.
Wednesday
Artillery fire on Donetsk was sporadic, according to the militias, but later in the evening artillery strikes were under way.
Artillery strikes were recorded in the Petrovsky and Kirovsky, Leninsky and the Kuibyshevsky districts and near the village of Spartak. A late overnight rocket artillery strike in the Kuibyshevsky district reportedly killed two civilians and wounded four more.
Roman Burko posted on the internet that three electronic warfare vehicles were destroyed by artillery fire in the Petrovski district of Donetsk. Two of the vehicles were identified as the RP-377LA Lorandit radio direction finding vehicle, also used for jamming, and the R-330ZH Zhitel radio jamming vehicle. Both vehicles are made by Russia, and Burko claimed they were manned by Russian military. The artillery fire was said to come from militia 120mm mortar units, not Ukrainian artillery.
Northeast of Lugansk, with Ukrainian military units holding the town of Stanitsa Luganskaya, artillery strikes were launched at the train station in the village of Chernukhino in the Perevalskiy district.
Pro Russian militias in the town of Lomovatka, on the Donetsk-Lugansk border came under Ukrainian artillery fire. Militia counterbattery fire in the form of BM-21 Multiple Rocket Launchers (MRLs) and single rocket launchers was returned and hit near Debaltsevo. Militias unconfirmed reports are that nine pieces of military equipment were destroyed and 40 died.
Pro Russian militias report that a number of probes by Ukrainian military forces were driven back in and around Volnovakha and Starobeshevo. These towns are about 15 kilometers southeast of Donetsk, and form part of the line militias have been using to defend the area between Lugansk and Donetsk.
Artillery fire is being exchanged between the two sides near Yenakievo north of Donetsk city and the airport, was well as at Debaltsevo and Olkhovatka, which is halfway between Donetsk and Lugansk cities.
Thursday
Artillery strikes continued in Donetsk city, with artillery hitting Kirovsky, Kuibyshevsky, Petrovsky, Kievsky and Kalininsky districts. Artillery also hit the village of Yenakievo in the north.
In Lugansk, the town of Vesyolaya Gora --on the left bank of the North Donetsk River less than one kilometer from the bridge at Schastye -- came under Ukrainian artillery fire, while the Antratsitovsky district in the village of Faschevka further north in the evening was shelled by tanks and armored personnel carriers, reportedly by Ukrainian Army Territorial Defense Battalion "Rukh Oporu". This unit is stationed near the village Nikishino.
Pervomaysk, about 15 kilometers west of Lugansk near the Lugansk-Donetsk border, also came under Ukrainian Artillery fire from the villages of Popasnaya and Zolotoye.
In Donetsk, militias say they took control of at least part of the airport. The operation was originally intended to push Ukrainian military units back north and northwest.
Fighting has been reported in Peski, which is southwest of the Donetsk airport, at the airport and at Avdeyevka which is northeast of the Donetsk airport.
Roman Burko said that fighting took place last Thursday when pro Russian militias attacked a checkpoint. The incident took place near the village of Nikishyne which is about four kilometers southeast of Debaltsevo.
Militias claim they continued to slowly reduce the pockets of Ukrainian troops in the area.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com
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