Rebels want Ukraine to sign new agreement
2015-06-26
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Denis Pushilin, chief negotiator for the nascent republic of Donetsk said Thursday that the Ukrainians must agree to withdraw heavy weapons from the front line, and they want a new, separate agreement to that effect, according to an official government announcement.
Both sides repeatedly claim the other have fired heavy weapons of 100mm or larger on the front line since February 15th when the latest agreement, dubbed Minsk II, went into effect.
Pushilin said in the announcement that negotiations for a settlement between the two combatants may come down to the issue of heavy weapons. According to Pushilin, talks are close to requiring Ukraine to take steps in ending the hot phase of the civil war.
What steps will be taken, Pushilin does not say, but news report say the new agreement will allow both parties to more rapidly and accurately challenge the other's claim of abiding by the agreement.
Meanwhile in several sectors in western Donetsk, artillery fire from both sides as well as direct fire combat continue.
According to the latest data supplied by the rebel government of Donetsk, the Ukrainian military have violated the ceasefire 38 times in the previous 24 hours, while the Ukrainian ministry of defense says that rebels have violated the ceasefire 30 times.
Much of the fighting centers around western Donestsk city suburbs, and the towns of Shirokino and Markinka.
Lt. Colonel Eduard Basurin, spokesman for the Donetsk ministry of defense, said in remarks on Thursday that Ukrainian artillery fire struck rebel positions at Spartak and the airport. He said the most intense artillery came from the positions of the Ukrainian 28th Mechanized Brigade under the command of Lt. Colonel Vyacheslav Leszczynski.
Ukrainian media said that an infantry fight has developed in the town of Peski, which has been divided between the two combatants since the fall of the Donetsk airport in late February.
A news account posted at tsensor.net said that elements of the Ukrainian 95th Separate Airborne Brigade fought off an attack by rebel forces in Avdievka, which is adjacent to Peski, using small arms a RPG fire. Ukrainian media said that artillery strikes by rebels have been recorded in Opytnoye, where Ukrainians have sited some artillery.
Marinka
According to rebel media, a Ukrainian rifle group attacked rebel positions near Marinka and in Trudovskoye, near the Petrovskiy district of Donetsk city Wednesday night to Thursday morning. Ukrainian heavy mortars, probably 120mm mortars began firing on rebel positions just after dusk on Wednesday, and continued firing for two hours, before Ukrainian troops attempted to drive rebel troops out of their positions.
The fighting, characterized by Russian military analyst Boris Rozhin as "medium intensity", continued until dawn. The Ukrainian attack was stopped and those troops returned to their original start positions. Rebel media has not released information as to casualties, nor have the Ukrainians.
Rozhin characterized the Ukrainian attack as a probe, meant to test rebel defenses of the town.
Shirokino
Artillery fire from both sides and direct fire combat continued in Shirokino. According to a news account posted on FSB reserve Colonel Igor Girkin's news portal, close quarters combat took place in Shirokino starting at about 1700 hrs Thursday night and ending at about 2100 hrs, with ranges of between 10 and 20 meters between the combatants. 122mm artillery were used by the Ukrainians in what was characterized as an attack on rebel positions.
According to a separate report which appeared in korrespondent.net, Ukrainian artillery hit rebel positions in Shirokino and Talakovki using 152mm artillery and 122mm rocket artillery from artillery sited at Sopino and Sartany. Ukrainian artillery also hit rebel positions in Berdyansk using 122mm artillery.
According to Yaroslav Chepurnoy, identified as a spokesman for the Ukrainian volunteer "Azov" Regiment, rebel fired artillery on Ukrainian positions a total of 13 times on Thursday. According to the report, rebel artillery hit Ukrainian targets at Chernenko using 122mm artillery. The report, which originally appeared on 0629.com.ua, said that rebel forces used 122mm rocket artillery on Ukrainian positions.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
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