Ukraine War Update - 16 July 2015

Thursday, July 16, 2015  5:57 AM PDT

Savchenko not wants to be trialed in terrorists' terminal

   KIEV, July 16 (Ukrinform). --- Ukrainian pilot and MP Nadiya Savchenko asks the international community to appeal to the Russian leadership to transfer her trial from city of Donetsk, Rostov region, back to Moscow.

   Savchenko's letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, PACE President Anne Brasseur and European Parliament President Martin Schulz was published by her lawyer Mark Feygin on Twitter.

   "I ask you to appeal to the Russian leadership with an urgent request to ensure normal and safe conditions of the trial, including transfer of trial back to court in Moscow," her appeal says.

   Savchenko notes that borderline Donetsk [Rostov region, Russia] is a terminal to send Russian arms and Russian-backed separatists to the territory of Ukraine.

   Savchenko supposes that the Federal Security Service of Russia may not allow foreigners to arrive in the borderland and thus the representatives of the Ukrainian Parliament and the international community would not be present at the court hearing.

Thursday, July 16, 2015  4:41 AM PDT

Army wants to double tanks and boost soldiers in Europe

   (RFE/RL) --- There is a growing recognition that this is not a spike in bad behavior by President Putin, but that this represents a much longer term set of challenges that we're going to deal with, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, said Monday during a meeting with reporters at the Pentagon. 

   The Army wants to send a second brigade's worth of tanks, Bradleys and other heavy equipment, and dedicate an entire division to exercises, training and assurance missions in Europe amid growing concerns over Russian aggression.

   These moves come as the Army continues a massive drawdown of forces that has already cut 10,000 soldiers — including two brigade combat teams — from Europe. Another 1,700 soldiers will be cut over the next three years as part of the latest round of reductions, leaving about 30,000 soldiers forward-stationed in Europe.

   Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno discussed his desire to place a second brigade's worth of tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Howitzers and other equipment in Europe during a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

   His remarks come as senior U.S. military leaders voice their concerns about the threat posed by Russia, which in the last year has annexed the Crimea region, secured a vital port in the Black Sea and sponsored a civil war in Eastern Ukraine that has claimed thousands of lives.

Thursday, July 16, 2015  3:46 AM PDT

Russia's 32nd "humanitarian convoy' arrives in Ukraine

   (uatoday) --- The white-painted military trucks supply Russia's proxy army in Ukraine

   Russia's 32nd 'humanitarian convoy' has arrived in Ukraine. Moscow claims the trucks are carrying aid for people in Ukraine's Donbas region but the 100 plus vechicles are believed to be merely military trucks painted white. Russia sends its military convoys into Ukraine without permission from the Ukrainian government. It has previously said that Ukrainian border guards were only permitted to carry out visual inspections from behind a fence.

   Ukraine claims the convoys carry supplies for the Russian-backed militants and regular Russian forces that have seized swathes of territory in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk where Ukraine has lost control of a section of its border with Russia more than 400 kilometers long. Russia's convoys never cross into Ukraine via a Ukrainian-controlled checkpoint, and only ever visit the parts of Ukraine were armed militants have seized control.

   Ukraine says the convoys are also used to transport back to Russia the bodies of Russian troops, volunteers and mercenaries killed in fighting in Ukraine, as well as equipment taken from Ukrainian industry in the region. The Ukrainian military also says the arrivals of the "aid convoys" coincide with upsurges in attacks on Ukrainian positions along the front line in the following days.

Thursday, July 16, 2015  2:52 AM PDT

No one killed, 11 Ukrainian soldiers wounded yesterday, - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- 11 Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the course of the anti-terrorist operation on July 15.

   This was announced by the Presidential Administration representative on ATO matters Oleksandr Motuzianyk at a briefing on Thursday, Censor.NET reports.

   "No one was killed in combat activities yesterday, 11 Ukrainian soldiers received wounds," he said.

Thursday, July 16, 2015  2:33 AM PDT

Donbas terrorists constantly increase manpower, - ATO HQ

   (Censor.NET) --- Constant build-up of terrorist forces is being observed in the anti-terrorist operation area.

   This was announced by the ATO HQ press officer Dmytro Hutsuliak on air of 112 Ukraine TV channel, Censor.NET reports.

   "I should note that this was observed over the past few days. 100 cases of shelling the ATO positions were recorded the day before yesterday, 90 were observed yesterday. The militants do not withdraw [heavy weapons - ed.] and do not abide by the Minsk agreements and preliminary conditions. Vice versa, constant redeployment and build-up of personnel and equipment of the Russian illegal gangs is being observed," Hutsuliak said.

Thursday, July 16, 2015  1:40 AM PDT

'DPR' subversive detained in Donetsk region, - Interior Ministry.

   (Censor.NET) --- The Donetsk region police detained local citizen who was recruited by the 'DPR' terrorist organization and allegedly planned to deliver explosives for a terrorist act in Kharkiv.

   This was announced by the Head of the Interior Ministry in the region Viacheslav Abroskin on his Facebook page, Censor.NET reports.

Donetsk

   According to Abroskin, citizen K., resident of the Donetsk region, born in 1979, was detained by criminal investigators of the Donetsk regional Interior Ministry on July 15.
   "In July 2014, the man was recruited by the 'DPR' (Donetsk People's territory of Ukraine. Upon detainment, 50 kg of explosives, a machine gun, a gun, a rocket launcher, grenades, ammunition, and an electric detonator were seized. The detainee said that he was supposed to deliver the explosives to Kharkiv in the upcoming days in order to organize a terrorist act. As of now, the citizen K. was arrested under art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine," Abroskin informed.

Republic - ed.) for performing subversive tasks on the

Wednesday, July 15, 2015  23:49 PDT

Terrorists shelled Kodema village in Donetsk region, civilians killed, - ATO press center

   (Censor.NET) --- The situation in the ATO area is consistently tense.

   Censor.NET reported citing the statement of the ATO press center on Facebook.

   "The Russian-terrorist forces committed about 90 attacks on our troops yesterday, July 15. About 60 of them were conducted from 6 p.m. to midnight. In this case the gangs used Minsk-banned weapons 33 times," the report reads.

   According to the headquarters, the Russian-terrorist forces have again intentionally committed demonstrative shelling of a peaceful village. The village of Kodema in the Artemivsk district of the Donetsk region was impacted by the militant's 152-millimeter artillery. There were civilian casualties as a result. In addition, the militants shelled the ATO forces' positions from 152-mm and 122-mm artillery seven times, from 120-mm mortars - 31 times, and employed tanks in nine cases.

   "The ATO forces' positions near Avdiivka, Novhorodske, Verkhniotoretske, Opytne, Kirove, Pershe Travnia, Leninske, Mykolaivka-2, Maiorsk, and Starohnativka came under militant's dense fire," the press center reported.

   It is noted that the militants conducts harassing fire at our troops' positions near Shchastia, the Luhansk region, and at the direction of the Donetsk airport using small arms as of 6 a.m. Thursday.

   "The Ukrainian military are firmly holding their defensive positions," the HQ added.