OSCE proceeds with truce plans as Donetsk airport battle continues
2014-10-07
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Fighting between Russian speaking separatists and Ukrainian military units continued over the weekend as militias fought to gain control of the Donetsk airport, according to militias and Ukrainian reports. Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe continued with its plans to implement the September 19th Minsk agreement, which places a 15 kilometer buffer zone between large bore guns deployed in the area by both sides.
The assault on the airfield, which began last week, continued with pro Russian militias claiming to control 90 percent of the airport in northern Donetsk city. The fighting has been reported as intense because the militias have thrown some of their most battled hardened fighting units into the fray, such as the Motorolla battalion.
The Motorolla battalion was involved in the fighting that reduced and eliminated with Ilovaisk cauldron in August, where Ukrainian military units attempted to split the two separatist states, Lugansk and Donetsk from one another by means of a mobile deep strike.
The plan failed for the Ukrainians because of the lack of forces to keep supply and communications lines open, and because of the intensity of the fighting of the militias.
Despite orders which were issued by Ukrainian commanders to withdraw two units, the 25th Airmobile Brigade and the 93rd Brigade from the airport, some Ukrainian units remain on the airport ground holed up in bunkers originally built to withstand nuclear strikes.
Militias' commanders say the 93rd brigade was withdrawn Saturday, but was replaced with a volunteer battalion staffed mainly with operators with the "Right Sector" Ukrainian political party. The losses to the new unit in the rotation was said to be five dead, but neither side will say how many new effectives were deployed to the airport. Those replacements came from Peski, which is west of the airport, which has been the site of artillery strikes and firefights.
For all the protestations of owning a large amount of the airport, casualties for the militias in the assault have been very heavy and may explain in part why they have been so slow in finishing the assault. Also, according to Russian military bloggers, basic supplies such as ammunition are starting to play a severe role in militias' operations.
At last report, the remnants of Ukrainian forces at the airport are being supported by artillery emplaced at Avdeyevka., the occupation of which is appearing to be a priority for the militias. Avdeyevka is about 11 kilometers north or the Donetsk airport.
Meanwhile in Donetsk city, artillery strike continues. Pro Russian militias continue to claim that Ukrainian artillery were responsible for the death of a Swiss Red Cross worker last week, while Ukrainian were claiming it was the militia artillery that killed him.
Ukrainian military blogger Roman Burko reported that militia claims of artillery strikes were not true and followed a "familiar algorithm" whereby militias fire artillery strikes into residential areas of Donetsk city, and then blame Ukrainian artillery units for any damage and deaths.
Such strikes have been de riguer since last summer, but cumulatively, it is unknown how many civilians were killed or wounded in the attacks.
According to Burko much of the artillery were originated from a location east of the airport, where presumably militia artillery units are emplaced.
Also, according to Burko, militias moved several rocket artillery launchers into specific locations which Donetsk city, specifically three BM-21 122mm rocket launchers into the Petrovskyi district. According to Burko, celebrations in the city were to mark the six month anniversary of the founding of the Donetsk republic, gatherings of which were to be hit by militia artillery, and would be blamed on the Ukrainians.
Those BM21's displaced to another location, the plan did not take place, and Burko did not explain why.
Pro Russian blogger Strelkov said that Donetsk government officials and war correspondents who had investigated impact craters, and concluded that artillery could only have come from regions southwest of the impact zone, namely from "Mariynskoe district, Novomihaylovka village, Katerinovka, which is controlled by the Army of Ukraine and Marinka village, which is considered neutral."
Militias claim Ukrainian artillery units shelled a number of locations near and within Donetsk itself, including Kirovsky, Kievskiy, Petrovsky, Putilovka districts of Donetsk city, and in the villages of Krasnogorovka and Peski, which are west of Donetsk city.
According to news reports, Germany will move about 200 soldiers to Donetsk to act as peacekeepers. It is unclear in media reports when the final demarcations will begin.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com
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