Donetsk separatists say as many as 30 died in fratricide incident
2016-02-16
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
As many as 30 Ukrainians were killed in a fratricide incident last week in western Donetsk, according to an official report by the Donetsk ministry of defense.
According to the report, the incident took place in Markinka near western Donetsk city last Tuesday night, February 9th, when volunteers associated with an unidentified Right Sector volunteer military unit tried to goad a Ukrainian army unit into firing onto rebel held territory.
According to the report, radio messages which had been monitored by separatists commanders, indicated that a proposed attack was made that elements of the Ukrainian 95th Airmobile Brigade refused to support.
Right Sector volunteers then placed themselves between rebel positions and positions of the Ukrainian unit and began firing on the Ukrainian unit. The Ukrainian military unit returned fire.
According to the report, rebel intelligence officers also had received reports of dead and wounded from the incident being transferred to Ukrainian military hospitals in western Donetsk.
The report goes on to note that some skirmishes have taken place between Ukrainian military and "radical nationalists", but the report did not elaborate.
The Marinka incident is not the only time Russian backed separatists have claimed they monitored a fratricide incident. Last year, separatists said that a private military unit entered into the area of operation of another unidentified Right Sektor volunteer unit and destroyed the unit using suppress small arms. Communications and GPS data were said to have been monitored in real time as the unit assassinated members of the volunteer unit.
In that incident, separatists claimed that a total of 30 elements had been killed.
Fighting in western Doentsk
Ukrainian military officials said Monday their forces were fired on 71 times by rebel forces in several locations, according to a news account which appeared in korrespondent.net
Mortar fire was recorded in Peski, Talakovke, Malyorsk and Zaitsev, while small arms fire and RPG fire were recorded in Novotroitsk, Marinka, Avdeevka, Novgorod, Opytnoye, and Peski, all of which are locations west of Donetsk city.
Small arms and RPG fire were noted near Mariupol and Shirokino, both of which are in southern Donetsk.
A separate korrespondent.net report said small arms and mortar fired were recorded in Marinka and Krasnogorovka on Sunday. The report also noted rebel forces were moving heavy equipment into the area, but that report did not elaborate.
Yet another korrespondent.net report said that a total of one dead and seven wounded Ukrainian soldiers were reported in separatist mortar attacks on Saturday.
The report said that rebel mortar and small arms fire struck Ukrainian positions at Marinka, Krasnogorovka and Maryinsky. Gunfire was also report near the Donetsk airport, Opytnoye, Avdeevka and Pemok.
Separatist defense officials say the Ukrainian military fired on their positions more than 200 times using banned weapons, such as 82mm and 120mm mortar fire and tank gunfire. The incidents occurred in Gorlovka, Staromykhailivka , Zhabichevo, near the Donetsk airport and western and northern suburbs of Donetsk city.
Southern Donetsk areas said to have come under Ukrainian fire include Dokuchaevsk and Kominternovo.
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 Ukraine by clicking here.
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