Rebels say bus was hit by mine
2015-01-15
Posted by: badanov
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
The civilian passenger bus Ukrainian authorities say was hit by rebel rocket artillery may have been instead hit by a mine, according to Russian language sources.
According to a news report posted on regnum.ru, legal authorities say they have opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of 12 civilians in the January 13 incident.
Rebel authorities claim that the nearest rocket artillery to the scene of the detonation was 50 kilometers away. Rebel military units have BM-21 Grad 122mm rocket launchers in the order of battle which have a range of about 20 kilometers.
A new surveillance video released by Ukrainian sources purports to show the passenger bus being driven into the impact zone of a rocket artillery barrage, with corresponding multiple ground impacts.
Russian military bloggers say the video was doctored because the impacts and corresponding explosions do not have the flaming explosion characteristic of a 122mm artillery rocket impact.
Instead the bus may have been hit with a directional mine similar to the US Claymore, or similar mine. Another possibility was the bus was hit by a "bouncing" mine, such as the Russian OZM series. Photos taken from the scene show an impact zone similar to a directional mine, which was likely detonated from remote.
Bloggers have pointed out also that Ukrainian military were at the scene, and had run away from the area even though the closest impact was 400 meters away, indicating an erroneous remote detonation of the mine.
The video can be seen here.
Volnovakha is about 30 kilometers north of Mariupol and 25 kilometers southwest of Donetsk city, and is very close to a contested zone.
Rebels have hit passenger buses before with direct fire and small arms attacks. Last August a bus carrying members of the Ukrainian Right Sector political party being transported to an army induction point was attacked by rebels with seven being killed and several more wounded. Right Sector activists are particular targets for rebel because of their role in the massacre at the Trades Union building in Odessa last May 2nd.
Ukraine has abandoned the Donetsk Airport?
Rebel media says that the Ukrainian military has abandoned the airport. According to a news report posted by Russian backed Voice of Sevastopol, rebel tanks destroyed the control tower, according to them, bringing it down. The control tower was used by Ukrainian military units to adjust artillery fire into Donetsk city.
Rebel claim that they have seized and control the first floor of the new terminal, which part of the area the Ukrainians have held since the rebel have attempted -- repeatedly -- to drive Ukrainian military from the airport starting last September.
If the reports are true, the accurately directed artillery fire may be coming to an end.
Ukrainian artillery fire and rebel counterbattery fire, and vice versa has caused numerous civilian casualties in recent days, and has been routine for residents in Donetsk city since last May.
Lugansk
Rebel operations in northern Lugansk have increased in recent days with rebel units holding a solid bridgehead at Slavnoserbsk after days of fighting. According to Ukrainian military correspondent Dmitri Tymchuk, units involved in those operations have received fresh units from Russia, including tanks and artillery. Those units are likely staffed with volunteers and older prior service military veterans.
Four days before on January 9th Tymchuk said that four mixed batteries and 10 tanks had been moved up the the Northern Donetsk River near Schastye and Stanitsa Luhanskaya.
Schastye has been an issue with rebel military leaders since last August when Ukrainian units which had previously taken the Lugansk airport by storm were forced to withdraw. Since that time rebel units have been trying to eject Ukrainian Army units from the town since it occupies a bridgehead that can be used for further operations south into Lugansk.
As subsidiary operation, rebel have been trying to seize towns west of Schastye which can be used to cut off the main highway from Schastye to Slavyansk. Ukrainian routinely use that road to rotate units in and out of Schastye. Similarly, rebel units have been trying to eject Ukrainian military units from Stanitsa Luhanskaya and surrounding communities, which is east of Schastye, with a mixed bag of luck. Should rebel units fully secure those two bridgeheads and use those positions to place the road leading to Schastye under artillery fire, Ukrainian military units may be forced to withdraw from Schastye.
Rebel maps show rebel units across the river and driving towards other settlements on the river, including Orekhovo-Donetskoye and Novotoshkovskoye, all of which is west of Schastye.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
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