Ukraine War Update – 23-24 May 2015

Sunday, May 24, 2015  7:44 AM PDT

US missile destroyer enters Black Sea to combat Russian threat

   (Ukraine Today) --- USS Ross arrived in a mission aimed at supporting Ukraine and NATO member countries

American missile destroyer USS Ross has entered the Black Sea, to support NATO member countries and its allies in the wake of Russia's actions in Ukraine. The US Navy said the vessel's presence shows Washington's firm commitment and willingness to strengthen the combat capabilities of its regional partners. It added crews would work in close cooperation with its allies to ensure maritime safety, battle readiness and naval potential. The ship has already completed two missions in the Black Sea region, in September and November last year.

   In recent months, NATO ships have held training drills, in order to prepare for any future mission. In one such training exercise like the one shown here, crews practiced dealing with air and submarine warfare, as well as small boat attacks. Less than two weeks ago, NATO voiced concerns about a Russian ambitions to station nuclear weapons in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, one annexed by Moscow from Ukraine last March.

Sunday, May 24, 2015  4:35 AM PDT

Militants are shelling Avdiivka Coke Plant to blackmail town's residents

   (Censor.NET) --- Shelling of Avdiivka Coke Plant is a part of a terrorist blackmail plan.

   Chief of the Donetsk regional police Viacheslav Abroskin wrote on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.

   "We detected a new kind of blackmail from 'DPR' terrorists. The militants have been shelling Avdiivka for two days aiming to destroy it. There is no permanent communication with the town. The only city-forming enterprise and the only assistant in the restoration and maintenance of life in the town, Avdiivka Coke Plant, has stopped. More than 70 missiles were fired at the factory over the past two days. Avdiivka has no electricity and water supply. One young man was killed and two women were severely injured," he wrote.
   "There are no military bases near the plant. If they were, it could explain the shelling. There is, however, a different explanation: the militants ran out of money and started blackmailing the plant workers, demanding money in exchange to life without fire. Civilian people suffer from their outrage," he explained.

Sunday, May 24, 2015  3:04 AM PDT

Five Ukrainian soldiers wounded, no one killed on May 23

   (Censor.NET) --- Five Ukrainian servicemen were wounded in the course of the ATO on May 23.

   This was announced by the Presidential Administration representative on ATO matters, Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk at a briefing, Censor.NET reports.
   "Over the past day, there were no deaths among the Ukrainian servicemen, while five were wounded," he said.

Sunday, May 24, 2015  2:07 AM PDT

Three Ukrainian soldiers wounded by terrorist shelling of Shchastia, Stanytsia Luhanska, and Krymske

   (Censor.NET) --- Yesterday, the terrorists shelled Shchastia, Krymske, and Stanytsya Luhanska, wounding three Ukrainian soldiers.

   Censor.NET reports citing the official website of the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Hennadii Moskal.

   Stanytsia Luhanska was shelled with heavy artillery, mortars, and automatic grenade launchers starting from 7 p.m. yesterday, May 23. Some houses and the gas pipeline were damaged (as of 8:30 a.m. today the damage has been eliminated and gas supply restored). There is no information about casualties among the civilians. One soldier was wounded by gunfire.
   "The water pipe damaged near the village of Artema by the shelling on May 22 has not been repaired yet," the report reads.
   Terrorist shelling was also reported in Shchastia and Krymske, Moskal states. The infrastructure and houses did not suffer there, however, according to preliminary data, a total of three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the Luhansk region yesterday.

Sunday, May 24, 2015  1:38 AM PDT

At night militants shelled Ukrainian troops with banned weapons

   (Censor.NET) --- Terrorist shelling continued as Ukrainian troops clashed with sabotage and reconnaissance groups of Russian-terrorist mercenaries near the villages of Leninske and Nelypivka.

   Censor.NET reports citing the ATO press center.
   "As before, the situation in the ATO zone has not changed on the night of May 24. The criminals continued to fire at civilian villages and towns with different types of weapons, destroying the infrastructure of Donbas. Ukrainian troops clashed with sabotage and reconnaissance groups of Russian-terrorist mercenaries near the villages of Leninske and Nelypivka around 6 p.m. The clas lasted 30 minutes. The criminals were forced to back out," the report reads.
   Later the invaders fired at Zolote, Kirove, Leninske, and Krasnyi Pakhar villages from grenade launchers and antiaircraft guns. They also shelled Troitske village with 120-mm mortars.

   In the Luhansk sector, the illegal armed groups fired at Stanytsia Luhanska, Shchastia, and Zhovte from artillery, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and heavy machine guns.
   "In the Donetsk sector, the 21st century barbarians traditionally shelled Pisky, Marinka, Starohnativka, and Krasnohorivka. Several cases of shelling of Avdiivka Coke Plant, which shows how the militants really care about the infrastructure of the Donbas," the press center noted.

   It was relatively calm in the Mariupol sector.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  23:35 PDT

Russians protest Stalin monument in Lipetsk

   (Zik) --- A group of Russians protested the installation of a monument to Joseph Stalin in the Russian city of Lipetsk, Rosbalt reports May 24, citing Radio Svoboda.

   The monument was installed by local Communists near their Lipetsk office.

   The protest was organized by “Memorial” activists from Komi who covered 1,500 km to get to Lipetsk.

   An activist from Siktivkar, student Marina Sedova was standing stood near the monument for over 2.5 hours with a poster saying “Stalin is a tyrant and murderer. He killed my grandfather.”

   She expects her initiative will give a start to the all-Russia campaign.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  23:20 PDT

 “We don’t need any more referendums in Donbas,” rebels say

   (Zik) --- There is no need to hold another referendum on the status of Donbas, says head of the Donetsk breakaway republic Andry Purhin, Ukrayinska Pravda reports May 23, citing RIA Novosti.

   “We have defended our special status with arms. We don’t need any more referendums. Our referendum was on May 11, 2014,” Purhin said.

   Meanwhile, Ukraine says the 2014 referendum was flagrantly falsified. The Russians and rebels wanted to repeat the Crimea scenario when the peninsula was merged with Russia following a falsified referendum.

   In April 2015, rebel leaders said they were ready to hold another referendum on the status of Donetsk republic.

   The leader of Poroshenko’s faction if Rada Yury Lutsenko proposed a referendum on the status of Donbas to be held simultaneously with the local elections.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  23:02 PDT

Russian diplomats in Kiev refuse to visit captured officers at weekend

   (Zik) --- When journalists contacted the Russian embassy in Kiev on Saturday, May 23, saying they have requests of the 2 captured special forces officers to Russian officials, the latter said it was a day off and the requests can be passed by e-mail, Ukrayinska Pravda reports, citing Novaya Gazeta May 24.

   On getting such answer at the Russian embassy, the journalists went to the consular department. The result was the same – “we don’t work weekends.”

   On Friday, SBU chief adviser Markian Lubkivsky said, speaking in a political talk show, that his agency hadn’t received any requests from the Russian consular officials to visit the 2 servicemen held in a hospital in Kiev.

   Earlier, the Russian attaché in Kiev Andrej Vorobiev accused Ukraine diplomats of stonewalling their demands to see the servicemen.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  12:41 PDT

Ukrainian border guards spotted 12 enemy drones in ATO zone

   (UTR.TV) --- Censor.NET reports citing the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

   According to the report, the militants continue to use drones in the ATO zone. 12 enemy UAVs were spotted in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions over the past 24 hours. Ukrainian border guards have also spotted two drones at the Crimean border.
   The Border Guard Service has also confiscated six fake passes at the Heorhiivka and Mykolaivka checkpoints. The detainees, residents of the Donetsk region, were handed over to the Interior Ministry.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  7:58 AM PDT

Russian authorities in no hurry to meet with captured servicemen

   (Zik) --- The Security Service of Ukraine, SBU, is prepared to provide access to the 2 GRU officers captured by Ukraine army May 16 in Donbas to Russian officials. However, no requests had been submitted by the end of the day of May 22, SBU chief’s adviser Markian Lubkivsky said, speaking late on a political talk show on 112 Kanal.

   “The service in cooperation with the foreign ministry is ready to let Russian officials visit their servicemen currently held in a Kiev hospital,” the official said.

Experts present at the talk show stressed Putin’s continuing refusal to acknowledge the presence of the Russian troops in Donbas, The no-show in the hospital of any Russian consular officials since the capture was made public on May 16 is part of Moscow’s policy of silencing the issue.

   Meanwhile, some military experts pointed out that the stories of both special forces service given by them to Ukraine officials and journalists do not ring as peaceful as the officers tried to make them sound.

   The shotgun, a sniper gun with a silencer, is issued only to special forces servicemen. It belonged to one of the servicemen, and a Ukrainian soldier was killed from it.

   Second, the mission of the Russians was not just to observe the situation in the touchline zone. They, and the other 10 Russians in the group, were on a combat mission to attack the Ukrainian army outpost and capture a bridge in Shchastya.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  5:37 AM PDT

One Ukrainian soldier killed, five wounded in Donbas conflict zone in last day

   KIEV, May 23 (Ukrinform). --- During the last day one Ukrainian serviceman has been killed, another five injured in the area of the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas as a result of hostilities and military clashes.

   Spokesman for the Presidential Administration on the anti-terrorist operation, Colonel Andriy Lysenko said this at a briefing in Kiev on Saturday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

   "Over the past day, as a result of active hostilities one our soldiers was killed, another five were injured," he said.

   According to him, near of the village of Verkhnetoretske the enemy's tank was observed.

   In the direction of Luhansk the confrontation continued near the town of Schastia and residential areas near Bahmutska road. Also, the illegal armed groups used 122mm artillery while shelling ATO forces positions near the village of Stanytsia Luhanska.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  5:22 AM PDT

Poroshenko enlists Sweden's support

   KIEV, May 23 (Ukrinform). --- In the framework of the working visit to Riga, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has had a meeting with Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Lofven.

   This is reported by the presidential press service.

   "The Head of State expressed his gratitude to Sweden for the support of Ukraine, inter alia, for the support demonstrated by Stefan Lofven in the course of the Riga Summit and noted that the Eastern Partnership was an initiative of Sweden as well. He also said that Sweden had always stood for the European integration of Ukraine and was one of the strongest advocates of Ukraine," the statement reads.

   Lofven, in his turn, assured that Sweden would further support Ukraine, because that was related to the international principles and European values entitled in Helsinki Final Act.

   "He also said that the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was one of the most ambitious and powerful among the Eastern Partnership countries," the press service said.

   Petro Poroshenko also called on Sweden to further support Ukraine in the introduction of the visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU.

Saturday, May 23, 2015  2:24 AM PDT

"Ghost" militant commander Mozgovoy eliminated in Donbas

   (UNIAN) --- The Luhansk People's Republic ('LPR') terrorist organization has announced Commander of the "Prizrak" (Ghost) militant brigade Alexey Mozgovoy has been killed.

   The 'LPR' press service said Mozgovoy had died in an attack by a sabotage-reconnaissance group near the town of Alchevsk along the Perevalsk-Luhansk highway.

   Russia's Novaya Gazeta reported earlier that a car of Ghost leader Mozgovoy had been blown up in a landmine blast, and then it had been attacked by fire from large-caliber automatic weapons. Mozgovoy's press secretary Anna Aseyeva also came under fire and died.

   "Anna died on the site, Mozgovoy [died] 40 minutes later," the report said.

   The driver and the bodyguards were also killed.

   The 'LPR' press service reported about the death of seven persons, according to preliminary information.

   Early in March 2015, Mozgovoy survived an attempt on his life. Three directed explosive devices were activated at a roadblock when he was leaving Luhansk. He was said to have got three head wounds caused by shrapnel. He was taken to hospital in Alchevsk, where he was given first aid.

   On January 1, 2015, the authorities of the self-proclaimed 'LPR' eliminated field commander Alexandr Bednov, nom de guerre Batman, from the Batman Battalion. Later, several gang groups were either disarmed or incorporated in the so-called Luhansk People's militia.