Ukraine War Update - 11 April 2015

Saturday, April 11, 2015  5:49 AM PDT

Long weekend Easter celebrations underway in West Ukraine

   (Ukraine Today) --- Orthodox Christians around the world are celebrating Easter this weekend. For Ukrainians, who are primarily Christian Orthodox, Easter is one of the most important holidays of the year, many take this time to spend with their families and travel to some of the picturesque parts of the country, including the Carpathian Mountains. This is where even in spring visitors can enjoy skiing and snowboarding.

   Halyna, Visitor: "We didn't expect this kind of nice winter weather in April."

   Ski instructors at one of the region's popular resorts say this skiing season will last until the end of April.

   While to Ukraine's Western city of Lviv visitors have been flocking for days prior to Easter celebrations. In total the population of the city will grow by approximately a quarter over the holiday season.

   Halyna Malets, Head of City's Department of Tourism: "Usually at Easter the spring-summer tourist season starts."

   Apart from the usual traditional Easter weekend activities such as egg decorating and various other craft workshops, on Monday residents and visitors will be able to take part in a massive water fight.

Saturday, April 11, 2015  4:16 AM PDT

20 enemy drones spotted near Mariupol

   (Censor.NET)  ---During the past 24 hours, 20 enemy drones were spotted near Mariupol city in the Donetsk region.

   Press officer of the Mariupol sector Dmytro Horbunov, announced today, Censor.NET reports citing 0629.
   According to him, the drones were spotted near the villages of Shyrokyne, Sartana, Hnutove, Manhush and Berdiansk town, as well as the north-eastern outskirts of Mariupol city.

Saturday, April 11, 2015  3:33 AM PDT

There are no casualties among Ukrainian soldiers over last 24 hours

   (Censor.NET)  --- There are no casualties among Ukrainian soldiers over the last 24 hours in the ATO zone on April 10.

   Andrii Lysenko, speaker of the National Security and Defense Council announced today at a briefing, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainski novyny.
   "There are neither wounded nor dead among Ukrainian soldiers over the past 24 hours," Lysenko said.

Saturday, April 11, 2015  1:31 AM PDT

Hostilities continue near Krymske village

   (Censor.NET)  --- Fighting continues on the outskirts of Krymske village near Bakhmutka highway (Luhansk region).

   Censor.NET reports citing Hennadii Moskal, Head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration.
   According to Moskal, shooting with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades between the Ukrainian security forces and the militants broke out several times on April 10. A drone was spotted over ATO forces' positions at 10 p.m. Last fire contact was reported at 8:40 a.m. Saturday. The village infrastructure has not been damaged and no civilians were injured.

   "Unfortunately, there were victims among Ukrainian soldiers yesterday. A National Guard soldier accidentally fired a machine gun at his colleague, who was killed on the spot, at a checkpoint near Vrubivka village (Popasna district). Details of the incident are being investigated. The preliminary cause of the tragedy is careless handling of weapons

Friday, April 10, 2015  22:21 PDT

Canada to send its servicemen to train Ukraine army

   (Zik) --- In the nearest months, Canada will send its instructors to train Ukrainian army, UNN reports Apr. 11, citing foreign media.

   “The Canada government is working out the details of the project to send instructors to Ukraine. Canada will cooperate more closely with its allies and US which are already involved in Ukraine,” a source said.

   As of Jan. 2014, Canada provided $450 mn in assistance to Ukraine.

   In March Canada’s Foreign Minister Robert Nicolson said his country would continue to supply non-lethal weapons to Ukraine. 

Friday, April 10, 2015  8:40 AM PDT

Russian invaders built a bridge across the Siverskyi Donets River to secretly deploy weapons in Donbas – Komakhidze.

   (Censor.NET)  --- Instead the announced bridge across the Kerch Strait, the invaders have built a secret one over the Siverskyi Donets River in the Donbas.

   Investigative blogger Iraklii Komakhidze writes for Informnapalm, Censor.NET reports.

He reminded that according to the information spread April 7 by head of the Information Resistance group and Verkhovna Rada deputy from People's Front faction Dmytro Tymchuk, Russia continues to send provisioning convoys to the Donbas mainly using the "Northern" route.

   "In this regard we provide the information on the bridge over Siverskyi Donets River that has recently been constructed by the Russian military engineers in the vicinity of Filippenkov village in Kamensky district of the Rostov region of the Russian Federation. The bridge is regularly used by the Russian military for the secret delivery of weapons, equipment, and other resources from the Millerovo base camp to the border with Ukraine and further to the Donbas. The route is laid in such a manner as to avoid the central roads and curiosity of civilians, although the Russian military themselves have more than successfully let on the location of the facility, as well as revealed the persons involved in the construction of the bridge," Komakhidze wrote.

   "The first information on the crossing near the village of Filippenkov appeared in the beginning of November 2014. There was no permanent bridge but a temporary pontoon one," the blogger wrote.

   "According to the acquired information, the construction and maintenance of the crossing was conducted by several military engineering detachments, including the bridge battalion of the 78th Logistic Support Brigade of the Southern Military District (the military base No. 11384-3, situated in the town of Budyonnovsk in the Stavropol Krai and the so-called Red Barracks from Volgograd) and the Separate Pontoon Battalion of the 11th Engineer Brigade of the Southern Military District (the military base No. 45767, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky town in the Rostov region). According to preliminary information, the Pontoon Detachment has given place to the Bridge one, and got the task to construct a new crossing in the border area near Ukraine. It is also known that the Russian military engineers were involved in the construction of a pontoon bridge across the Siverskyi Donets River directly in Ukraine, particularly in the Russian- terrorist forces controlled territory in the Luhansk region, near the village of Stanytsia Luhanska," Komakhidze wrote.