Showing posts with label Lugansk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lugansk. Show all posts

Sunday, 24 May 2015

Lugansk PR leader Mosgovoi assasianted



Prominent Lugansk Militia Leader Mozgovoi Assassinated
Prominent militia leader Mozgovoi was assassinated on Saturday evening after the vehicle he was traveling in ran into an ambush.


23 May, 2015


Lugansk militia leader Aleksey Mozgovoi was assassinated by unknown gunmen on Saturday after the vehicle he was traveling in ran into an ambush.

Mozgovoi was the head of Lugansk's Prizrak ("Ghost") Brigade militia, one of the most prominent militias in the region.

"This happened at around the same place as where an assassination attempt against Mozgovoi was made on March 7. The ambush took place on the highway between Lugansk and Alchevsk, unknown persons shot at the jeep Mozgovoi and his guards were traveling in. Mozgovoi was seriously injured and died on the spot," a representative of the militia told RIA Novosti.

General Prosecutor, Mozgovoi was killed alongside six other people. Mozgovoi's entourage included his press secretary and three members of his security detail, according to Russian news site LifeNews.

Mozgovoi was killed when the car he was traveling in ran into an ambush outside the village of Mikhailovka, east of his group's headquarters in Alchevsk, in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic.

From the Saker

A few thoughts about the murder of Mozgovoi


Alexei Mozgovoi
Alexei Mozgovoi

Friends,

I will be honest with you: the murder of Mozgovoi hit me like a punch in the stomach,  just as had happened with Buzina my first thought upon hearing the news was “Oh God – not him!”.  I did not always agree with everything these two man said, but they were dear to my heart for their immense, truly shining, honesty and courage.  At a time when the world is full of lukewarm, unprincipled, cynical “leaders”, Buzina and Mozgovoi truly did shine by their absolute honesty.

Even though I am in a state of total disgust and anger,  I want to share a few simple thoughts with you:

1) While it is pretty darn obvious who killed Buzina, it is too early to establish who killed Mozgovoi.  Those “armchair generals” who are already pointing the finger at this or that person or group are only making things worse and, objectively, doing Kiev’s bidding.

2) An attack like the one which happened today is not something organized in 24 hours.  So those who are linking this murder with this or that recent event are by definition wrong.

3) It is all well and dandy to blame Kiev yet again, but even if the regime in Kiev (or Uncle Sam himself) did order this murder, then the authorities in Lugansk are at the very least guilty of criminal negligence.

4)  I have a very hard time imagining that the otherwise hapless Ukronazi freaks in Kiev would have the means to regularly kill Novorussian commanders deep inside the LNR.  As for Blackwater/Academi or CIA assassins, this is even less likely.

5) I personally find the hypothesis that this murder was ordered by Putin absolutely ridiculous.  Likewise, I find that Surkov ordered such a murder “behind Putin’s back” equally preposterous.  So I am certain that this was not a “Kremlin ordered hit”.

So, not Kiev and not Moscow – but then who?

This is an extremely dangerous and divisive question which must be asked, but asked very carefully and only on the basis of facts.

The logical place to go look for answers is Lugansk and around those interest groups associated with that Republic.  Still, at this point in time I would not confuse legitimate questions and accusations.I have to be honest here and admit that I am generally rather unimpressed with the LNR authorities and I personally doubt that they will come up with some real answers. I hope that I will be proven wrong, but I am not holding my breath.  I will say that if the LNR authorities are unable or unwilling to clean house, then somebody else will have to do that.

At a time when crucial negotiations are taking place against the backdrop of an apparently inevitable Ukronazi attack the Kremlin simply cannot afford to have Lugansk taken over by the rot of local political intrigues and assassinations.
Right now, I am too sad, disgusted and angry to add anything else.

The Saer

PS: apparently, the trolls are out in full force again, repeating the “The Kremlin did it!!” idiocy like a mantra.  Whether we are dealing with paid Pentagon employees, low-IQ “hurray patriots” or simply garden variety idiots matters little: their hysterics only make things worse for Novorussia.  I have better things to do than to argue with them, and if they get out of control I would recommend that the mods start re-directing their nonsense were it belongs: the trash bin.


Sunday, 22 February 2015

Ukraine civil war update - 02/21/2015

Terrified Debaltsevo residents leave shelters after Kiev troops’ pullout




RT,
21 Febraury, 2015

As Kiev and anti-government forces in eastern Ukraine prepare for heavy artillery withdrawal and prisoner exchanges, the residents of Debaltsevo, the hotspot of the recent fighting, have plucked up courage to walk the streets of their town again.

After the Ukrainian military withdrew their forces “en mass” from war-torn Debaltsevo on Wednesday, the locals, terrified by weeks of shelling, began to crawl out of their bomb shelters, scavenging for what thousands of Kiev troops left behind – personal belongings, food or warm clothes.
View image on Twitter
Urban completely controlled by anti-govt forces. Remaining units outside city.
Residents weren’t prepared to talk to journalists for a while, but when they did it was with long pent-up bitterness.

We would like to thank Ukraine that it made us homeless, destroyed our homes,” local women tell RT at the abandoned Ukrainian army’s military camp. “We’ve been living in basements since the summer.”

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Damage to simply horrendous. Terrified residents say panicked troops fired blindly
A hospital in Debaltsevo, that served as a barracks for the Ukrainian troops and was also damaged in the street battles, became a shelter for many civilians, who had no desire to leave Donbass in search for a safer life.

How can a person, who worked all her life, end up in a basement like a rat? I don’t understand how I could be here,” says a woman, who had been surviving in the hospital’s basement.

View image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter
Locals search for food in overrun military camp. It is massive, strewn with ammo and personal belongings

On Saturday, Kiev and anti-government forces in eastern Ukraine are planning to exchange prisoners in a continuing effort to implement the peace deal.

Over a month, the clashes around Debaltsevo claimed the lives of at least 179 Ukrainian soldiers, Yuriy Biryukov, presidential adviser and assistant to the defense minister, said on Friday. Hostages were made of 110 soldiers and 81 are missing, he wrote on his Facebook page. According to self-defense forces estimates, the Ukrainian soldiers’ death toll is nearly 3,000 people.

View image on TwitterView image on Twitter
hospital. Apparently used for months as barracks by troops. Damaged Ukrainian APC sits outside

Debaltsevo is a strategic railway hub, connecting the breakaway regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. It remained a battlefield where around 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded by Donetsk People’s Republic forces, as the ceasefire failed to put an end to the ongoing violence.


The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany agreed the peace deal in Minsk on February 12. To de-escalate the lingering conflict, that has taken at least 5,600 lives, according to the latest UN estimates, it introduced measures such as the ceasefire that started a week ago, a pullout of heavy weapons, and comprehensive constitutional reform by the end of the year.



A 75 year old woman picks up the scattered macaroni left after Ukrainian army in Debaltsevo. The whole war represented in one photo.



OSCE mission gets access to Debaltsevo in E. Ukraine, Kiev and militia swap prisoners

Vehicles of the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) to Ukraine near Debaltsevo, eastern Ukraine, February 20, 2015. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

RT,
21 Febraury, 2015

The OSCE monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine has finally arrived in the town of Debaltsevo, after a local militia provided guarantees of security. At the same time Kiev and rebels in Lugansk gave independent reports of prisoner swaps.

Representatives of the OSCE special monitoring mission (SMM) in eastern Ukraine arrived at the town of Debaltsevo in the Donetsk region, the mission's spokesperson Michael Bociurkiw announced on Saturday. Access to the area, which had reportedly been a sticking point at the Minsk peace talks, and which continued to be a scene of fighting between the anti-government forces and Kiev troops, was possible with the militia's guarantees of security, Bociurkiw told Ukraine's 112 tv channel.

View image on Twitter
Newly arrived armoured vehicles at SMM HQ in Kyiv getting readied for deployment to E Ukraine
The observers arrived at Debaltsevo along with the International Committee of the Red Cross and several trucks, bringing food and medical supplies to the region, the OSCE spokesperson said, adding that its observers are working on a full report on the situation in the region. He also called for all sides to observe the cease fire agreement in all territories in eastern Ukraine and provide access for the mission to all its regions.

Kiev forces allegedly obstructed the OSCE mission's freedom of movement, after keeping the observers at one of the check points some 80 kilometers from Donetsk, RIA Novosti reported. Citing the mission's representatives, it was said that while at one of the check points the observers had to wait for a while to be let through, at the other security point they were denied entry by Ukrainian servicemen, due to lack of travel documents.

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HAPPENING NOW: Media briefing by Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug - statement on withdrawal of heavy weapons

On Saturday, the OSCE SMM in Ukraine also asked both sides of the conflict to provide details of their heavy weapons in order to verify their withdrawal from the area. In its statement, the SMM asked for details of "inventories of their heavy weapons; the routes along which they intend to withdraw them; or where they will be concentrated."

OSCE SMMU - Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine
Organization · 3,457 Likes
 · 5 hrs · 
STATEMENT BY THE CHIEF MONITOR OF THE OSCE SPECIAL MONITORING MISSION TO UKRAINE ON PROCESS OF VERIFICATION OF WEAPON WITHDRAWAL IN EASTERN UKRAINE
I am aware of several reports which indicate that the process of withdrawal of heavy weapons, on which the sides agreed in Minsk, is about to start. In order to verify the withdrawal – to testify to the truth that specific weapons have been and remain withdrawn – the OSCE SMM needs to know what heavy weapons the sides have, where ...
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In line with the truce, which was agreed by several world leaders in Minsk last week, the self-proclaimed republics in Ukraine and military officials from Kiev conducted a prisoner of war exchange on Saturday. At least 35 prisoners from each side of the conflict were freed on neutral territory near Lugansk, the self-proclaimed Donetsk people's republic spokesperson told Ria Novosti. The Lugansk militia also reportedly planned to conduct an exchange with the government. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko announced the release of over a hundred of Ukrainian soldiers on his Twitter.

139 Ukrainian soldiers have been released from captivity.

Humanitarian aid from Russia was also delivered to the town of Debaltsevo on Saturday, Interfax reported, citing Russia's Foreign Ministry official. Supplies of food, medicine and everyday necessities were delivered to the region with the help of Russia's emergency services


Kiev and the Republic exchanged two hundred prisoners, one soldier of ATO refused to return to Ukraine

МОЛНИЯ: Киев и республики обменялись двумя сотнями пленных, 1 боец АТО отказался возвращаться на Украину


21 February, 2015


Ukrainian journalist Roman Hnatiuk reported the details of the exchange of prisoners, which took place on March 21.

"A long day. We are retruning wth the exchange of prisoners.

Held "in the fields" for the village Frunze Lugansk region.

According to the results: DPR gave 37 (1 refused); from Ukraine received 36. LPR gave up 103 from Ukraine, received 16 people. "

-----

Украинский журналист Роман Гнатюк сообщил подробности обмена пленными, который состоялся 21 марта.

«Длинный день. Возвращаемся с обмена пленными.

Проходил „в полях” за поселком Фрунзе Луганской обл.


По итогам: ДНР 37 отдала (1 отказался), от Украины получили 36. ЛНР отдала 103, от Украины получили 16 человек».