Thursday, March 19, 2015
8:34 AM PDT
Terrorists shelled
Ukrainian troops’ positions from artillery and mortars. 17 strikes recorded
trough the night - ATO press center
(Censor.NET) --- The enemy keeps
violating Minsk
accords in the ATO area by committing artillery and mortar strikes at the
positions of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Censor.NET informs
citing the ATO press center situation report.
"The militants
fired at the ATO troops' positions 17 times within the period from 8 p.m. March
18 to 7 a.m. March 19. The enemy was most active at the Donetsk direction. The gangs attacked our
strong point near Dutovka mine at 8:15 p.m. using 122-millimeter artillery
systems and mortars. The enemy conducted artillery and mortar strikes on
Avdiivka at 8:35 p.m. The militants also used small arms to commit armed
provocations near the villages of Pisky and Opytne," the statement reads.
It is also noted
that the criminals assaulted the villages of Maiorsk and Leninske at the
Artemivsk direction twice using small arms. There was no shelling of the
Ukrainian troops' positions near Mariupol recorded at night.
"In general,
the terrorists opened fire 13 times from 8 p.m. March 18 until midnight.
Another four cases of cease-fire violation were committed from midnight to 6
a.m. March 19," the headquarters summed up.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
8:01 AM PDT
Militants preparing
to disrupt ceasefire tomorrow - SBU
Spokesman for the
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Markian Lubkivsky has posted this on his
Facebook page.
"On Friday,
March 20, a special operation called 'Anthill' is to be carried out in Donetsk , which is aimed at disrupting the Minsk agreements. This information was
confirmed by the sources of the SBU in the leadership of the self-proclaimed
Donetsk People's Republic," he posts.
Lubkivsky added
that a number of diversions is preparing in Donetsk and Luhansk. "The events are to
be immediately covered by the Russian and separatist propaganda media in order
to blame the Ukrainian authorities. According to the Russian special services,
the next step should be the destabilization of the situation in several major
Ukrainian cities in the east," he said.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
7:39 AM PDT
Terrorists are trying
to capture the bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska: engagement is under way - Sector
‘A’ press officer
(Censor.NET) --- A group of terrorists
tried to get the half-ruined bridge over the Siverskyi Donets River in
Stanytsia Luhanska village under control today, March 19.
Sector 'A' press
officer Volodymyr Korniiaka wrote on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
His statement
reads: "The situation in our sector remains difficult. The directions with
the most threatening military posture are Stanytsia Luhanska village and the
town of Shchastia .
"A group of
terrorists consisting of five to eight militants has crossed the demarcation
line this morning and attempted to take control over the half-ruined bridge in
the Stanytsia Luhanska village. The militants opened fire in response to the
demand of the Ukrainian military to leave the territory. The engagement is
currently under way. There are no casualties among the servicemen of the Armed
Forces of Ukraine at the moment.
"The
militants' main efforts yesterday were focused on preparation of offensive at
the following directions: Luhansk - Shchastia, Luhansk - Stanytsia Luhanska,
and along the Bakhmutka road.
"Arrival of
numerous military equipment convoys from the territory of the Russian Federation
was recorded. The train with equipment and ammunition arrived to Sukhodilsk
railway station (Luhansk region.) from the territory of the Russian Federation .
About 10 wagons of ammunition and fuel were unloaded at Ilovaisk railway
station.
"The Militants
of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic are partially withdrawing heavy
weapons and equipment from the line of contact simulating fulfillment of Minsk agreements. At the
same time the enemy accumulates forces and facilities at training ranges, in
training centers and in the area, close to the line of contact. The terrorists
keep provoking the ATO forces to engagements," the report reads.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
5:01 AM PDT
Crimea's
transformation into military hub may cause full-scale conflict – Poroshenko
(Interfax) --- A sizable Russian
military presence in Crimea is increasing the danger of a full-scale conflict
in the Black Sea region, Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko said.
"It's already
a military hub, as far as I understand from the statement of the Russian
President that they placed missiles there, which are capable of carrying
nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with Euronews published on the
channel website on Thursday.
"And I think
that this is….again this is not a question of Ukrainian independence or
Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea ," the
president stated.
"This is
increasing significantly the danger of a full-scale conflict in the Black Sea region. Because these missiles have a range of
500 kilometers that can easily reach several NATO member states and that should
prompt a certain reaction," he said.
"Another
problem in Crimea is the humanitarian
situation there. This is a brutal violation of human rights. The whole
aboriginal nation, the Crimean Tartars, with a number of more than 300,000
people are under very severe pressure. The leaders of these people are under
arrest in Russian prisons or are prohibited, like during the Stalin era, to
enter Crimea ," the president said.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
5:00 AM PDT
Ceasefire is observed
by and large - OSCE
Such an assessment
of the situation in the east of Ukraine has been given by chief monitor of the
OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Ertugrul Apakan at a press
conference in Mariupol on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"The ceasefire
has been observed by and large. This is a very positive development," he
said.
However, Apakan
noted that violations of ceasefire occur near Donetsk and to the east of Mariupol.
Meanwhile, the
latest report of the OSCE SMM to Ukraine
of March 17 says that fighting continues also near Shyrokyne village (Donetsk region).
As the mission
states, both parties to the conflict put obstacles in its work. Besides, its
movement is also limited due to the lack of precise information on the mined
territories.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
4:37 AM PDT
Support for joining
EU rises one year after Revolution of Dignity – poll
(Interfax) --- After the Revolution of
Dignity the number of Ukrainians who support joining the Eurasian Customs Union
has fallen almost threefold, according to the results of the poll conducted by
the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) through February 14-24.
According to the
poll, the number of supporters of joining the Eurasian Customs Union dropped
from 35% to 12% when compared to September, 2013. The number of supporters of
joining the EU grew from 41% to 47%, and the number of those who don't want to
join either increased from 9% to 27%.
"It means that
the changes that happened to people's views had two results: a part of the
people changed their mind in favor of the pro-European integration course, and
another part are the people condemning Russia's actions, but don't support
joining the EU and now are inclined towards Ukraine's independent course,"
reads the statement issued by the KIIS.
According to the
poll, 50.7% of respondents would vote to join the EU at a referendum, 25.7% –
would vote against, and another 23.6% wouldn’t vote or haven't decided yet.
Therefore, if a referendum for joining the EU had taken place in February,
76.4% of people would have voted. Their votes would have been divided as
follows: 66.4% would have voted in favor, 33.6% – against joining the EU.
The KIIS said that
pro-European sentiment in Ukraine
increased after February 2014, meaning the rise was mostly due to Russian
aggression and not the Euromaidan events.
A total of 2,013
respondents over 18 years old were surveyed in 108 populated areas of all the
regions of Ukraine , except
for Crimea . The poll was conducted in Donetsk and Luhansk
regions in both Ukrainian and militant controlled territory.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
4:28 AM PDT
No one killed
yesterday, one Ukrainian soldier wounded - ATO speaker
(Censor.NET) --- One soldier wounded
during ATO March 18.
ATO speaker Andrii
Lysenko announced at a press briefing, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainski
Novyny.
"No one was
killed over the past day in the Donbas . One
soldier was wounded," he said.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
3:51 AM PDT
Situation in Ukraine
The map reflecting
the situation in Donbas as of 12.00 on March
19 has been released by the information and analytical center of the Ukrainian
National Security and Defense Council.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
3:31 AM PDT
Prime Minister of
Canada urged Putin regime to cease destabilization campaign and fully withdraw
from Crimea and eastern Ukraine
(Censor.NET) --- Prime Minister Stephen
Harper's statement marked the so-called Crimean “referendum” held one year ago
and the subsequent illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia .
The statement was
published by Stephen Harper's official website, Censor.NET reports.
"A year ago
this week, the so-called Crimean 'referendum' was held under the Putin regime's
influence to legitimize the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia two days
later.
"Whether it
takes five months or 50 years, Canada
will never recognize this annexation as being the genuine will of the Ukrainian
people. We have instead maintained our call that the Putin regime cease the
destabilization campaign it has orchestrated and fully withdraw from Crimea and
eastern Ukraine .
"Toward this
objective, Canada and its
partners have imposed a broad range of sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian
individuals and entities, including targeted sanctions on Russia 's finance, defence and energy sectors and
key officials involved in the illegal annexation of Crimea .
"Furthermore,
in support of NATO measures in response to Russian aggression, Canada has played a leading role in deploying
air, land and maritime forces in the area to promote security and stability in
Eastern and Central Europe, as part of the Alliance 's Assurance Measures. It is also
contributing to the NATO Trust Funds for Ukraine ,
as well as to each of the three NATO Centres of Excellence in the Baltic
States, which play a key role in enabling the Alliance to better address regional security
challenges related to strategic communications, energy security and cyber
defence.
"In addition,
our Government has taken a number of other steps to help the Ukrainian people
as they work to restore political and economic stability, most notably through
electoral assistance, support for economic and social development, and
providing military training and non-lethal equipment to the Ukrainian
government.
"Canada will not forget Vladimir Putin's reckless
actions in Ukraine .
Any solution to the current crisis will need to respect the territorial
integrity, sovereignty, independence and Constitution of Ukraine.
"The people of
Ukraine
are showing tremendous resilience and courage in the face of aggression. Canada will
continue to support the Ukrainian people's fight for freedom and democracy for
as long as it takes," Harper's statement reads.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
2:45 AM PDT
British military
begin training Ukrainian army – media
(Interfax) --- A group of 35 trainers of
British military personnel have already begun training members of the Ukrainian
army fighting pro-Russian rebels, the BBC learned.
The 35 trainers are
working in the southern city of Mykolaiv
and will spend about two months in the country.
According to BBC,
Ukrainian forces will learn medicine aid algorithm and defensive tactics.
The decision to
send British military men to Ukraine
was announced by UK
Prime Minister David Cameron last month.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
12:29 AM PDT
First batch of
military vehicles to arrive in Ukraine late March – U.S. Vice President Biden
(Censor.NET) --- President of Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko held a telephone conversation with Vice President of the
United States Joseph Biden.
Poroshenko told
about the situation in the Donbas and informed about the latest regulations,
which the Ukrainian parliament had adopted pursuant to Minsk arrangements, Censor.NET reports citing
the head of state press service.
Biden told about
the decision of the president of the United States to conduct training
of 780 Ukrainian soldiers of the National Guard, which will be held in the near
future.
The vice president
also said that the first batch of military vehicles will arrive in Ukraine in late March to strengthen the defense
capability of Ukraine .
The Ukrainian
president thanked the United States
for a strong stance on Crimea and consistent support of the territorial
integrity of Ukraine .
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