Wednesday, May 27, 2015
7:37 AM PDT
Ukraine army heavy
artillery and tanks pulled out while rebels preparing offensive, volunteer
officer warns
(Zik) --- Sooner or later, Donbas rebels
will launch an offensive, ‘OUN’ battalion of volunteers CO Mykola Kokhanivsky
said, speaking on 112 Ukrayina TV May 27.
The rebels and
their Russian patrons are likely to intensify the war soon, he warned.
Experts say Putin
needs to ensure supplies of water and electricity to Crimea, and the only way
out for him is to grab water reservoirs in Ukraine . In the past, Crimea got
70-80% of electricity and water from mainland Ukraine .
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
7:37 AM PDT
Poroshenko’s adviser
explains why Ukraine jets do not operate in Donbas
(Zik) --- Considering the number of AA
systems the rebels have, flying there is a tremendous risk, Yury Biriukov, the
president’s adviser, said, speaking on Kanal 5 May 27.
With the large
number of carry-on AA missiles the enemy has, it is a big risk to operate jets
in Donbas , the adviser said.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
7:30 AM PDT
Tension at Luhansk
direction increased. Fire activity of the militants shifted to night time - ATO
speaker
(Censor.NET) --- From 7.00 a.m. of May
26 till 7.00 a.m. of May 27 the situation at the Luhansk direction remained
complicated with a tendency to increased tensions.
This was stated by
the ATO speaker in the Luhansk Region Ruslan Tkachuk, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, in the past 24 hours the "LPR" militants twenty times provocatively shelled the positions of the Ukrainian army starting from 7.00 a.m May 26.
According to him, in the past 24 hours the "LPR" militants twenty times provocatively shelled the positions of the Ukrainian army starting from 7.00 a.m May 26.
Fire activity of
the fighters has shifted to evening and night time. 18 shootings were conducted
after 7.00 p.m. Shelling of the Ukrainian army positions lasted from 8.00 p.m.
till 4.00 a.m. The terrorists used heavy machine guns, small arms, automatic
grenade launchers and twice mortars of a 120-mm caliber. They also started
using tank weapons, self-propelled guns and infantry fighting vehicles i ntheir
attacks.
The main directions
of the militants' actions along the contact line are Krymske, Shchastia,
Stanytsia Luhanska, Popasna.
At 4.30 p.m. the militants shelled the town ofZolote-4
of the Popasna district. As a result a 27-year-old Ukrainian serviceman died
from heavy mine-explosive wounds, shrapnel injuries and internal bleeding. No
data on civilians' losses is available so far.
At 4.30 p.m. the militants shelled the town of
In the past day
four flights of enemy drones were recorded on the following routes -
Donetskyi-Krymske, Triokhizbenka-Staryi Aidar, Kreidiana Hora-Shchastia.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
7:26 AM PDT
(Censor.NET) --- The UK will continue to put pressure on Russia because of the situation in Ukraine .
This was stated by
Queen Elizabeth II in her throne speech, Censor.NET reports citing Sputnik.
"My government will maintain pressure on Russia to respect territorial integrity of Ukraine ," the Queen said, adding that the
government will continue supporting the full implementation of the Minsk peace agreements.
Earlier, the United Kingdom decided to increase the supply of
non-lethal weapons to Ukraine .
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
7:03 AM PDT
52% of Ukrainians
support joining EU
This has been
stated in the article "52% for EU membership - is this little, many or
enough?" Yevropeiska Pravda portal reported.
Since the end of
2011 and till Euromaidan, if people were asked to choose between the Customs
Union or the EU, 30-32% of Ukrainians chose the CU. Then the number reduced to
22% in March of 2014, and it remained only 13% in March of 2015.
At the same time,
number of people supporting the EU increased. In March of 2014, 45% of
Ukrainian chose the EU, while two months later, in May of 2014, this number was
50.5%, and the latest research in March of 2015 showed that 52% of the citizens
chose the EU vector.
"But current
52%, most likely, is the maximum support for the European vector, which is
possible today. In fact, despite the increase in support for the European
vector, the proportion of those who believe that Ukraine should join neither
the EU nor the Customs Union is the largest for the last 3.5 years and amounts to
23%," the experts said.(blogger note: I had to add this image as it looks so much like the old Soviet war posters from the Second World War.)
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
6:48 AM PDT
OSCE SMMU observes
170 explosions at Donetsk
KIEV, May 27 (Ukrinform).--- In the last
day, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has observed over 170
explosions in and around the destroyed Donetsk airport, controlled by
Russia-backed militants from the so-called "Donetsk People's
Republic."
This is said in the
OSCE latest report on the situation in Donbas .
"The SMM
observed that fighting continued in and around the destroyed 'DPR'-controlled Donetsk airport, noting
over 170 explosions during the reporting period," the report says.
The SMM also
observed the following weapons' movements or presence in areas that are
non-compliant with the Minsk
withdrawal lines: in "DPR"-controlled areas, three T-64 main battle
tanks (MBT); and, in government-controlled areas, one T-64 MBT.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
6:37 AM PDT
Trains delivered new
convoy of Russian tanks to Ukrainian border.
(Censor.NET) --- A convoy of Russian tanks
arrived by rail at border with Ukraine
days after military trucks and rocket launchers were spotted nearby.
A freight train
pictured carrying a convoy tanks towards the Ukrainian border looks to escalate
tensions between the two sides even further. The nine tanks arrived in the
southern town of Matveev Kurgan
on Monday, before being driven along the streets on Tuesday, Censor.NET reports
citing The Daily Mail.
The picture, taken
on a mobile phone, comes just days after a huge convoy, including rocket
launchers, military trucks without licence plates and armoured personnel
carriers, was photographed driving along a road near the town.
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The arrival of the
convoys will no doubt be seen as more aggression from the Russians towards
their neighbours, who have been arming Ukraine 's separatist rebels for
months.
Matveev Kurgan is
just 17 miles from the border, and just 72 miles from Donetsk , where some of the heaviest fighting
of the 15-month conflict has taken place.
It holds a
checkpoint between the two countries, but had to be evacuated temporarily in
August last year when fighting got too near to the border, according to Russian
news agency TASS.
Elsewhere in Russia , it
seems Putin is just as keen to show off his military might.
A massive
'surprise' military drill featuring 12,000 soldiers and 250 aircraft was
launched in response to two weeks of Nato exercises in the Arctic .
The Russian
manoeuvres - which began in the Ural mountains and western Siberia
yesterday - are intended to help the military prepare for an even larger drill
in September, called Tsentr-2015.
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This week's drills began on the same day as
Nato launched its own long-planned military exercises in the Arctic, where 100
aircraft and 4,000 servicemen from Germany, Britain, France, Netherlands and
the U.S., are taking part in a Norway-led aviation exercise described as the
'largest of its kind'.
Non-Nato allies Finland , Sweden
and Switzerland
have also joined the so-called 'Arctic Challenge'.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
6:29 AM PDT
Ukraine does not
demand immediate membership in NATO,
instead it must focus on reforms to meet NATO standards
(Zik) --- Before applying for NATO
membership Ukraine
should focus on reforms, foreign ministry director of policy and communications
Oleksy Makeyev says, Interfaxs-Ukrayina reports May 27.
“Instead of asking
for immediate membership we have to reform the country to meet NATO standards,”
Makeyev said, addressing Ukraine-NATO “Partnership for united and free Europe”
conference in Kiev
May 27.
Support for joining
NATO in Ukraine has grown
significantly in the wake of Russia ’s
aggression, he said.
“Ukrainians are
supporting membership in NATO – we have seen the significant growth of support
last year. Reforms needed for NATO membership must be intensified, and this
will raise the level of support even more,” he said.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
6:18 AM PDT
Avdiyivka
Coke-Chemical Plant resumes operations
(Interfax) --- The Avdiyivka
Coke-Chemical Plant, part of Metinvest Group, which suspended operation after
it was shelled by militants on May 23, has been connected to electricity supply
and has resumed operation.
Metinvest said in a
press release issued on Wednesday that the repair of minimal required equipment
damaged in attacks on May 21 and 23 made it possible to restore the production
process.
"Specialists
from energy company DTEK and the plant’s electricity staff restored three of
four high-voltage power lines to the enterprise and the town yesterday, on May
26," reads the press release.
The plant’s repair
teams also restored process steam lines and power substations. Work to seal the
batteries’ gas collectors and repair water conduits on cooling towers is in
progress. The railway, repair and mechanical, coke and coal preparation shops
have been partially repaired.
According to the
press release, the emergency suspension of operations at Avdiyivka Coke had no
negative impact on the environment. There were no recorded incidents of the
leakage of harmful substances, discharge or liquids.
Avdiyivka Coke has
been shelled many times since July 2014. More than 280 shells have exploded on
its territory since then. Five of the plant’s workers have been killed as a
result of the conflict.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
5:48 AM PDT
Russian military jets
and helicopters drill near Ukrainian border
(UNIAN) --- Some 12,000 troops and 250
aircraft of the Russian military continue to perform air defense exercises
ahead of an even more massive Tsentr-2015 Russian military drill due to be held
in September.
Since Tuesday, the
airfield near the town of Marinovka in Russia 's Volgograd
region has been hosting the newly arrived fighter jets and various military
helicopters from other districts, Ukraine Today reports.
According to one of
the participating air force officers, the troops involved were put on full
alert on May 26.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015 9:27 AM PDT
Rebels take fall for
capture of 2 Russian special forces’ officers in Donbas
(Zik) --- A governmental commission from
Russia visited Donbas
several days ago to investigate the capture of 2 military intelligence officers
by Ukraine army, SBU chief’s
adviser Markian Lubkivsky writes in Facebook May 26, citing SBU sources in Donbas .
The commission
questioned the servicemen of the Luhansk breakaway republic’s Cossack
battalion, blaming them for the failure to help the Russian officers.
The commission
ordered all Russian servicemen in Donbas to
prepare legends in case of captivity and have the documents describing them as
Luhansk militia officers.
Ukrainian army
servicemen captured 2 Russian special forces’ officers during the battle on May
16.
The Russian command
washed their hands of their officers, saying they were not regulars (retired in
December 2014) and went to Donbas on their own will.
Meanwhile, the
officers described themselves as servicemen on active duty.
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