Rebels say Ukrainian artillery hammers Gorlovka
2015-07-28
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
As rebel officials commemorated the one year anniversary of Gorlovka being struck by Ukrainian artillery, Ukrainian artillery has been hitting Gorlovka since Saturday, according to Russian language news accounts.
According to data supplied by the Donetsk ministry of defense, artillery said to be sited in Artemovsk stuck Gorlovka at around 2200 hrs Saturday night, continuing "for several hours." The Donetsk government said that Ukrainians are using artillery as well as mortar fire. The artillery hit the Nikitovsky sector near the intersection of ulitsas Fonvizina and Zharov. Two unidentified men were wounded, one of them critically.
According to data supplied by the Donetsk ministry of defense, in Gorlovka 164 civilians have been killed and 506 wounded since July 27th, 2014.
Among the other rebel held towns and regions under Ukrainian artillery fire are the airport and Spartak, both of which have been struck by Ukrainian artillery several times since Saturday. Other towns also reportedly hit include Zaitsevo and the western suburbs of Donetsk city. The Donetsk ministry of defense claims rebel forces came under fire by various means almost 100 times since last Saturday.
Ukrainian media said Monday that their forces came under rebel artillery fire in various places including Marinka, Shirokino, Avdievka, Peski, and Opytnoye. Ukrainian reports say that rebels have been using 120mm mortar, 122mm rocket artillery, 122mm and 152mm artillery, as well as tank gunfire on those towns. Additionally, according to Ukrainian media, rebels have been using small arms and crew served weapons fire on those areas as well.
OSCE observer wounded
An observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was wounded in a grenade-rifle attack early this morning in Shirokino, according to Ukrainian media. The OSCE set up camp in town to monitor the area when it was demilitarized after being an intense war zone since the fall of 2014.
The demilitarization took place after it was proposed by rebel officials in the ongoing Minsk peace talks, when rebel commanders, frustrated, decided to unilaterally pull out of town and withdraw about five kilometers to the east four weeks ago.
Elements of the "Azov" volunteer military unit occupied the area and had kept it under artillery observation, but now, according to Ukrainian media, all forces, including the Ukrainian national guard as well as "Azov" have left the area.
The withdrawal of Ukrainian forces has caused a good deal of frustration within the ranks of the politicized Ukrainian volunteer units, with some leaders demanding written orders to that effect.
Shirokino was part of the Ukrainian Mariupol defense zone, a fortified area made so in anticipation of offensive action by Russian supported rebels. The zone recently received a naval infantry unit and national guard units as reinforcements.
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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