Ukraine War Update - 28 July 2015

Tuesday, July 28, 2015  5:56 AM PDT

OSCE ready to observe removal of weapons with caliber under 100 mm in Donbas - mission

   (Interfax) --- The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) representatives in Donbas will observe the removal of military hardware with a caliber of less than 100 millimeters, provided an agreement has been signed to that effect, OSCE Special Monitoring Mission deputy chief Alexander Hug said.

   If the relevant agreement is signed, the OSCE will be on the spot to observe progress, Hug told Interfax on Tuesday.

   It is important to distinguish between the movement of weapons and the removal of weapons, he said. The removal requires us to make sure that the removal will not be redeployed and re-used, he said.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015  5:13 AM PDT

Militant attack on Schastia power plant blacks out most of Luhansk region

   (UNIAN) --- The power supply in most areas of Luhansk region has been disrupted after Russian-backed militants shelled a thermal power plant (TPP) in the town of Schastia, Luhansk Regional Military and Civil Administration's press service reported.

   "In the morning today, July 28, DTEK Luhanska TPP was under mortar fire, as a result of which power unit No. 13 was disconnected, and one power unit is still in operation. A power failure has blacked out a larger territory in Luhansk region," the press service said.

   Power engineering personnel are now trying to put an additional power unit into operation, according to the source.

   "The militants continue fierce attacks on Luhansk region. After yesterday's defeat in the fight, the terrorists have decided to take revenge by shelling Luhanska TPP. Repair crews are doing their utmost to restore the power supply as soon as possible," Chairman of Luhansk Regional Military and Civil Administration Heorhiy Tuka said.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015  4:39 AM PDT

Ukraine to create 30-km buffer zone in Donbas

   (Zik) --- On Pres Poroshenko’s orders, a 30-km buffer zone along the touchline is to be created in Donbas. Ukraine army will control the zone, army spokesman said July 28, UNIAN reports.

   “Ukraine troops, armed with small arms and machine guns, will control the zone.

   OSCE will set up its observation post in Shyrokine,” he said.

   Shyrokine, a town near Mariupol, will be defended by Ukraine Marines,” he said.

   Poroshenko said the zone will be a real step forward to ensure a ceasefire, pull out heavy artillery and tanks as well as create the groundwork for the economic and political reintegration of rebel-held territories in Ukraine.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015  4:37 AM PDT

One soldier killed, 12 wounded over past day, - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- Over the past day of July 27, one Ukrainian soldier was killed, 12 were wounded in combat activities in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in the east of Ukraine.

   This was announced by the Presidential Administration speaker on ATO matters, Colonel Andrii Lysenko at a briefing on Tuesday, Censor.NET reports.

   "Over the past day, one Ukrainian soldier was killed, 12 more were wounded in combat activities," Lysenko informed.
   He stressed that representatives of the illegal armed gangs continue to cynically violate the Minsk agreements.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015  4:28 AM PDT

Ukraine insists on high-profile trial of captured Russian officers

   (Zik) --- The trial of two Russia’s GRU military intelligence captured in Donbas in May is to be held on-line in English, German and French to attract international attention, interior minister’s adviser and Rada lawmaker Anton Herashchenko writes in Facebook July 28.

   “The trial won’t look like a show like the on-going trial in Russia of Nadia Savchenko. It will be a mini Nurnberg tribunal to expose Russian servicemen fighting in Ukraine,” he said.

   After the trial is over, both Russians can be exchanged for Nadiya Savchenko and journalist Oleh Sentsov who are both detained on trumped-up charges in Russia, Herashchenko proposed.

   Russian authorities have washed their hands of both GRU servicemen, saying they do not belong to its forces and went to Donbas on their own initiative.

   The servicemen, however, has repeatedly admitted they are Russia’s regulars.

   They were captured during the attack on Ukraine army positions in which they killed one and wounded another Ukrainian serviceman.

Monday, July 27, 2015  23:03 PDT

Rebels destroy critical Donbas infrastructure

   (Zik) --- Ukraine’s foreign ministry has condemned the shelling on July 27 of the electricity plant in Vuhlehirsk, UNN reports.

   “The shelling of the Vuhlehirsk plant which incapacitated it completely is similar to the shelling of the power plant in Shchastya, gas pipeline in Yasynuvata and water pipeline in Stanytsya Luhanska. 

   The victims of these shellings are also civilians working and living near these infrastructure facilities, not to mention hundreds of thousands of those who need electricity, water and gas,” the statement runs.  

   “We demand that the Russian troops and their rebel mercenaries stop the destruction of vital industrial facilities in Donbas in order to bring about a humanitarian disaster in the area,” the statement runs.

Monday, July 27, 2015  22:06 PDT

Crimean Tatar Leaders Cite Pressure On Eve Of World Congress

   KIEV(RFE/RL) --- Russian investigators have summoned Crimean Tatar leaders ahead of a major world congress scheduled for Ankara this weekend in a move that has sparked concern that the authorities are trying to pressure the group.

   The chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Crimean Tatar Assembly (Qurultay), Zair Smedlyaev, wrote on Facebook that he and Nariman Celal, the first deputy of the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body, the Mejlis, were summoned for questioning by the Russian investigative committee on July 28.

   Smedlyaev suggested the questioning might be related to clashes in February 2014 that pitted Crimean Tatars and pro-Ukrainian activists against pro-Russian activists near the regional parliament.

   Russian special forces wrested Crimea from Ukraine in the months ahead of its unrecognized annexation of the peninsula in March 2014, a move that has left Tatars and critics of the move vulnerable to abuses under Russian control.

   Several Crimean Tatar activists, including the deputy chairman of the Mejlis, Ahtem Ciygoz, were arrested earlier this year and charged with organizing "mass disorder" in connection with the violence outside the regional legislature.

   Armed men in unmarked uniforms -- later acknowledged to be led by Russian forces -- seized the parliament building the following day.

A UN resolution subsequently asserted Crimea's continued status as part of Ukraine.

   Smedlyaev said this week's questioning might be an attempt to prevent Crimean Tatar leaders and activists from taking part in the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, slated to be held in the Turkish capital on August 1-2.

   The Ankara congress is expected to attract some 200 Crimean Tatar groups from several countries.

   Meanwhile, the leader of the pro-Russian Crimean Tatar organization Qirim (Crimea), Remzi Ilyasov, who is also deputy speaker of Crimea's Moscow-backed parliament, has publicly condemned the idea of holding the world congress in Ankara. Ilyasov has called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to boycott the gathering.

   Activists say Crimean Tatars have faced discrimination, pressure, and abuse over their opposition to Russia's land grab.

   Several Crimean Tatars have turned up dead since the annexation, and more Crimean Tatar activists have been arrested. The veteran leader of Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev and Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov have been barred from entering Crimea by the peninsula's Russian-installed leaders. 

   In April, Crimea's Moscow-backed authorities shut down the only Crimean Tatar television channel and its affiliated media outlets.

   Most Crimean Tatars appeared to oppose Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, while others, like Ilyasov, accepted it and have cooperated with Russian officials.