Ukrainian counterattack drives rebels from Logvinova
2015-02-12
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Just 24 hours after rebels claimed to have taken a key position blocking a highway to Debaltsevo, a Ukrainian counterattack opened the "lid" on the encirclement, according to Russian and English language sources.
Ukrainian military journalist Dmitri Tymchuk said that a Ukrainian force supported by artillery fire managed to drive out entrenched rebel forces at Logvinova, forcing them back towards Nizhnie Lozove and Novogrigorevka, both on the east side of the Debaltsevo salient.
Ukrainian soldier Semen Semenchenko said that a small armor group and a platoon of Ukrainian National Guard troops forced a break in the rebel lines sufficient to permit a relief column into Debaltsevo.
Tymchuk said that rebel forces are close enough to fire on vehicles traveling along Highway M04.
Tymchuk also said that fresh rebel forces are being routed through Krasnii Luch, which include six tanks, 11 tented trucks and four APCs. Krasnii Luch and the surrounding area, due to its strategic crossroads system, is being used by the rebels as a marshaling point for troops and logistics for use in the northern zones of Lugansk and Donetsk.
Rebel forces have begun an assault on the village of Chernukhin, south of Debaltsevio, after failing to take the town over the past week with heavy losses on both sides.
Shelling in Donetsk
Rebel media said that Ukrainian artillery hit several sectors of the city including near the village Vesyoloye, with artillery fire coming from Lastochkino and Avdeyevka; near the village of Spartak, with multiple rocket launchers and artillery from the villages Opytnoye and Lastochkino; and, in the districts of Kirovsky and Textilschik, using rocket artillery and tube artillery fire from Lastochkino and Novomikhaylovka.
Rebel media also said that their troops at the Donetsk airport were hit six times with Ukrainian artillery from Avdeyevka, Lastochkino, Opytnoye, and Tonenkoye.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. Click here for a list of stories in the The 2014 War in Ukraina category.
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Click here for a list of stories in the The 2014 War in Ukraina category