Ukraine War Update - 2 February 2015

Monday, February 2, 2015  8:34 AM PST

112 civilians killed and 219 wounded due to terrorist attacks in the Donetsk region in January - Interior Ministry

   (Censor.NET) --- 112 civilians were killed by the militants’ assaults in the Donetsk region in January. Deaths of six children were at the hands of the militants last month.

   Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Main Directorate in the Donetsk region head Viacheslav Abroskin wrote on his page on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.

   "The civilians living on the territory of local councils of Debaltseve, Mariupol, Avdiivka, Dzerzhynsk, Marinka, Volnovakha, Artemivsk, Yasynuvata and Telmanove are subjected to constant terrorists' shelling. 112 civilians, including 6 children of the age from 2 to 16 years were killed only in January due to the militants' shelling and terrorist attacks as well as 219 people were injured, including 18 children. The militants have committed two bloody terrorist attacks in the Donetsk region (government-controlled territory) since the beginning of the year: 12 people were killed and 19 were wounded near Volnovakha Jan. 13; 30 civilians were slayed and 117 were injured in Mariupol Jan. 24. The number of victims of the artillery strike on Skhidnyi residential neighborhood of Mariupol is specified - these figures are not final," he wrote.

   "Over 5,000 law enforcement officers and more than 2,000 troops of the forces affiliated to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry from other regions are keeping peace in the region. 163 strategic objects (TPPs, railway and road bridges, overcrossings, and critical infrastructure facilities) are under twenty-four-hour guarding. Skhidnyi residential neighborhood of Mariupol is also taken under twenty-four-hour guarding by 300 policemen in order to prevent looting. The Donetsk region police officers together with the National Guard of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, volunteer battalions and affiliated forces' servicemen from other regions of Ukraine are serving at 59 checkpoints," the head of the Donetsk region police said.

   "A good cooperation and intelligent coordination between the representatives of all law enforcement agencies were achieved in the M sector through the sector head's skillful direction. The prevention measures to identify the members of illegal armed groups on government-controlled territory of Ukraine are carried out," he wrote.

   "We are getting rid of the employees who have discredited the law enforcement agencies by their unlawful actions. 6968 employees were fired from the law enforcement agencies in the region including 494 officers who were dismissed for discrediting actions. The 'internal purging' is underway," Abroskin stated.

Monday, February 2, 2015  8:02 AM PST

Terrorists escalated shelling of Debaltseve - ATO press center

   (Censor.NET) --- The terrorists have escalated shelling of Debaltseve city, the Donetsk region.

   This was announced by the ATO press center, Censor.NET reports.

   "During the day on Monday the terrorists were firing main guns at the Debaltseve direction. The terrorists have been stating for several days that they had seized or surrounded the city. In fact, they have been lying to the whole world and their Kremlin puppeteers. It is also obvious that after arrival of another so-call 'humanitarian convoy,' the terrorists are again supplied with hundreds of tons of shells, mortar bombs, and rockets.

   "Using Grads, the terrorists shelled Debaltseve seven times, Troitske four times, Novohryhorivka two times, and Luhanske and Krymske villages. The mercenaries fired with mortars and artillery as well, aiming Debaltseve for four times, Komuna, Luhanske, and Krymske for two times, as well as Shumy, Mius, Troitske, Novozvanivka, and Popasna.
   "It is worth noting that shellings are conducted in a criminal manner. It is not difficult to count how many tons of supplies were fired by the terrorists at peaceful towns and villages, as well as the ATO forces positions. Each time the mercenaries place their Grads, mortars, and artillery directly in settlements which are temporarily controlled by the terrorists - in residential areas, on territories of kindergartens, hospitals, other facilities, knowing that Ukrainian soldiers would not fire back," the message reads.

Monday, February 2, 2015  6:15 AM PST

Russia plans massive amnesty to reinforce its mercenaries in Donbas, SBU says

   (Zik) --- Russia plans a massive amnesty in May to have more cannon fodder in Donbas, SBU adviser Markian Lubkivsky told journalists in Kiev today, UNIAN reports.

   “This plan indicates that Putin won’t stop his aggression in Ukraine,” the official said.

   One of the Russian POWs admitted recently on television that he had been given an alternative – either to continue his prison term or go to fight as tank driver in Donbas.

   “We have to realize that Moscow is waging a full-scale war and has no plans to stop it,” he warned.

Monday, February 2, 2015  3:59 AM PST

Ukraine Rebel Leader Vows To Mobilize 100,000 Men

   (RFE/RL) --- A pro-Russian separatist leader in eastern Ukraine has announced plans to recruit 100,000 men as fighting with government forces intensifies following the collapse of peace talks.

   Aleksandr Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said on February 2 that the call-up would begin in 10 days.

"There will be volunteers at first and we shall see what to do next," he said.

   The Ukrainian parliament last month approved plans to recruit some 100,000 soldiers this year.

   Fighting has increased in eastern Ukraine in the past weeks and hopes of easing the situation faded after peace talks fell apart on January 31.

   The rebels have threatened to push their offensive to take over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in their entirety, seizing the large coastal city of Mariupol and bringing them closer to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia seized from Ukraine in March 2014.

   Ukraine said on February 2 that five of its soldiers had been killed and 29 others wounded in the past 24 hours in fighting in the two regions, where the rebels hold the capitals and large swaths of land abutting Russia.

   Military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov said Ukrainian forces had been targeted with artillery or mortar fire more than 100 times.

   He said the fighting remained most intense around the government-controlled town of Debaltseve, a road and railway hub located in a pocket nearly surrounded by separatist-held territory.

   Hundreds of civilians have been moved out of Debaltseve amid reports that the separatists have reached the outskirts of the town.

   Pro-Kiev authorities in eastern Ukraine said three civilians were killed in the previous 24 hours, while separatists put the number at 11 and blamed government forces.

   More than 5,100 people have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine since April, when it erupted after Russia annexed Crimea, setting off the biggest confrontation beween Moscow and the West since the Cold War.

Talks Collapse

   The peace talks in Minsk, seen as a chance to reduce the increased hostilities, quickly collapsed on January 31.

   The negotiations included representatives from Russia, Ukraine, the separatists, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

   The separatists accused Kiev of sabotaging the talks, with representative Denis Pushilin saying the rebels will reject ultimatums.

   On February 2, Zakharchenko ruled out the possibility of a next round of peace negotiations until Kiev appoints an official representative to the talks.

   He said Kiev’s representative at the Minsk talks, former President Leonid Kuchma, was a "private individual."

   Kiev and the OSCE said the rebels refused to discuss crucial points of a peace plan signed by Russia, the separatists, and Ukraine in Minsk in September, and instead called for revisions that would give them control over more territory.

   The Foreign Ministry of Serbia, which chairs the OSCE, said, "They were not even prepared to discuss implementation of a cease-fire and withdrawal of heavy weapons."

   The revisions the rebels sought echoed a prosposal that Russian President President Vladimir Putin made in mid-January, which Western governments have described as a bid to gain more ground for the separatists and prevent Ukraine from controlling its border with Russia.

   Kiev and NATO accuse Russia of arming, training, and sending troops to Ukraine to help thed rebels, who are deploying sophisticated and heavy weaponry, including dozens of tanks and multiple-rocket launchers.

Sunday, Friday 1, 2015  23:54 PST

Enemy losses in Donbas: 180 killed, 248 wounded

   (Zik) --- The Russian/Donbas rebel troops suffered heavy losses on Feb. 1, with 180 rebels and Russians killed and 248 wounded, Ukraine army spokesman said Feb. 2.

   Ukraine army is firmly holding its positions, continuing to inflict losses on the enemy, the official said.

   Ukraine’s losses were 5 killed and 29 wounded, Ukrinform quotes the army spokesman as saying.

Sunday, Friday 1, 2015  23:46 PST

Russians move 1,200 troops and 55 armour to Debaltsevo, expert says

   (Zik) --- The Russians are moving reinforcements to Debaltsevo via Makiyivka, Yenakieve and Alchevsk, military expert Dmytro Tymchuk writes on Facebook Feb. 2.

   He estimates the reinforcements at 1,200 troops and 45 tanks and APCs.

   In the past week, Debaltsevo was the scene of fierce fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russian/rebel troops.

Sunday, Friday 1, 2015  6:59 AM PST

Georgia not to ban its citizens to fight for Ukraine

   (Zik) --- Georgian citizens taking part in the war in Donbas on the side of Ukraine will not be prosecuted, the country’s deputy interior minister Levan Izoria said Jan. 31, News-Georgia reports.

   Georgia’s parliament is considering canceling the amendments to the criminal code imposing criminal liability for participation in military conflicts abroad.

   However, the official added, those Georgians fighting for Donbas rebels will be prosecuted by the law.

   Currently, about 100 Georgians are fighting in the Ukrainian army against the rebels, he said.