Ukraine War Update - 3 May 2015

Sunday, May 3, 2015  4:49 AM PDT

One Ukrainian soldier killed and six wounded over the past day - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- One soldier was killed and six were wounded in the course of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) on May 2.

   This was stated by ATO speaker Andrii Lysenko during a briefing, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainian News.

   "Over the past day as a result of provocations and hostilities one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another six were wounded," he said.

   In the past 24 hours the militants used Grad multiple rocket launchers one time.

   Fighting continues near the Donetsk airport and Shyrokyne.

   In addition, the Ukrainian military was able to repel the assault on the ATO strong point near Mariinka of the Donetsk region.

   Earlier, it was reported that eight servicemen were wounded in the ATO on May 1.

Sunday, May 3, 2015  4:12 AM PDT

Fighting in Shyrokyne continues. Donbas battalion soldier killed by shrapnel.

   (Censor.NET) --- Non-stop fighting has continued in Shyrokyne over the past two days. Russian occupants use heavy 120 mm mortars, automatic grenade launchers, small arms, and sniper rifles.

   Donbas battalion is repelling the enemy, Censor.NET reports citing the battalion's official page on Facebook.

   The reports states: "During the operation Donbas battalion soldier Ivan Sotnyk, a resident of Lutsk, was killed. We cherish the memory of the Hero!

   "Another soldier of the battalion, call-sign Tor was wounded. He received medical treatment, a shrapnel was removed, he is currently in a good condition," the report says.

Sunday, May 3, 2015  2:21 AM PDT

Paratroopers unblocked Right Sector base. All conflicts have been exhausted - Corps Commander

   (Censor.NET) --- Paratroopers of the 25th and 95th brigades of the armed forces of Ukraine unblocked the base of the Right Sector Volunteer Corps.

   This is reported by Censor.NET citing the press service of the Right Sector.

   "According to Corps Commander Andrii Stempytskyi, paratroopers of the 25th and 95th brigades of the armed forces of Ukraine unblocked the base of the Volunteer Corps. All the conflicts have been exhausted," the statement reads.

   Earlier, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak stated that there would be no granting of special authority to the units of the Right Sector upon acceding to the armed forces of Ukraine

Sunday, May 3, 2015  1:39 AM PDT

Ukrainian soldiers repulsed the attack of terrorists in the area of Mariinka - ATO press center

   (Censor.NET) --- From 6 p.m. to midnight on May 2, the situation in the area of the anti-terrorist operation remained tense.

   This is reported by Censor.NET citing the press center of the ATO.

   "Around midnight, a strong point of our fighters near Mariinka engaged into a firefight with a reconnaissance and sabotage group. The criminals fired from automatic grenade launchers and small arms. The Ukrainian troops effectively repelled the attack and drove the criminals away," the headquarters informed.

   It is noted that in the Luhansk region the gangs fired from automatic grenade launchers and small arms on the position of Ukrainian troops near Shchastia d Zolote-4.

   During the said period units of the armed forces of Ukraine also recorded two enemy UAV flights not far from Shyrokyne and Opytne.

Saturday, May 2, 2015  8:37 AM PDT

US experts on Russia fear escalation over Ukraine

US now sees Russia directing Ukraine's rebels

The United States now sees the Ukrainian rebels as a Russian force.

   WASHINGTON (Associated Press) — U.S. experts on Russia see a growing danger the crisis in Ukraine that has already taken thousands of lives could explode, although the latest cease-fire agreement has partially held.

   U.S. and Western European moves to isolate Russia and damage its economy for its seizure of the Crimean peninsula and support of separatists in eastern Ukraine against the Western-backed central government have not forced President Vladimir Putin to back down.

   The State Department says Russia is beefing up its troops and weapons along the Ukrainian border. Meanwhile, the U.S. has dispatched 300 American military trainers to work with the Ukraine army, and other NATO members are adding hundreds more.

   Experts say that's a fuse of a much wider conflict waiting to be lit after a year of battle that the U.N. says has taken at least 6,100 lives.

   Andrew Weiss, Russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said an egregious action by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine or an incident between U.S. and Russian forces could cause an escalation. He said a recent near-collision of U.S. and Russian military jets over the Baltics highlighted the risk.

   "So there's a lot of volatility here that's embedded in the crisis," Weiss said. "So I'm thinking the current lull just doesn't look sustainable. And it's only a matter of time before something triggers a new escalatory spiral."

   Fighting in eastern Ukraine has ebbed substantially since the signing of a February cease-fire deal, but sporadic clashes still break out along the 280-mile front line separating government and rebel forces. U.S. Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of NATO forces in Europe, told a congressional hearing Thursday that it appears Russian forces have used the lull in fighting to reposition for another offensive.

   Western economic sanctions have taken their toll on the Russian economy that President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address in January "was in tatters." The impact of those economic woes was felt most by average Russians.

   Russia, however, has won some economic breathing space as its currency, the ruble, regained ground from panic-level lows at the end of last year. Oil prices — for the time — have ended a precipitous decline and the flow of capital out of the country has slowed. The latest poll by the independent Levada agency showed Putin's approval rating was an overwhelming 86 percent in April.

   But there are signs that Russia could be headed for deeper economic problems. This year's first-quarter gross domestic product is off 2 percent and a fairly deep recession still is forecast for the next two to three years. Capital outflow this year is projected at $90 billion to $100 billion, which is much better than 2014's disaster, but that projection is still about 50 percent higher than the outflow of 2013. And oil prices, while stabilizing, are down about 50 percent, which cuts deeply into Russian government income.

   "You've seen some bad news about the Russian economy," Weiss said, "but nothing that's catastrophic or dire. None of what has been put on the table so far (in terms of sanctions) has had an effect on what Putin will do or not do in Ukraine tomorrow."

   As for Ukraine itself, Weiss warns that the state is fragile, and it will be difficult for President Petro Poroshenko to deliver on ambitions for significant economic reform and changes in the political system that has been dominated by a corrupt Ukrainian elite for most of the past 25 years.

   So what is the way out of the standoff?

   "At the moment all the signs are bad," said Stephen Cohen, a Russia expert and professor emeritus at Princeton and New York University.

   Cohen is a longtime and vocal critic of American policy toward Russia. He, like Putin, believes U.S. policy has been provocative ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, starting with the expansion of NATO into former Soviet republics and Soviet satellite nations in Eastern and Central Europe.

Washington is determined that the new Western-leaning Ukraine government be freed of Moscow's orbit. Putin has declared it must not.

   "Putin has said from the beginning what he wants is enough home-rule in the southeastern territory," Cohen said of the industrial and coal-producing region that is heavily populated with ethnic Russians.

   Putin has said he's never going to desert the people in eastern Ukraine. And he wants a guarantee that Ukraine never joins the NATO alliance.

Who's going to blink?

2 Russian nuclear bombers entered Alaska airspace, report says

   (Fox) --- Two nuclear-capable Russian bombers reportedly intruded into the U.S. air defense zone near Alaska last week.

   The Washington Free Beacon, citing defense officials, reports the tu-95 Bear H bombers flew into the zone on April 22, but no U.S. jets were dispatched to intercept them.

   Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for NORAD, declined to confirm the incursion to The Times, but said that no jets were dispatched to intercept intruding aircraft.

   The incident was the first Russian bomber incursion of a U.S. or Canadian air defense zone this year. It likely signals the start of Russia’s long-range aviation training cycle, officials said.

   U.S. and Canadian jets intercepted Russian bombers at least six times last year, while intruding Russian long-range aircraft were detected on 10 occasions, Davis said.

   Senior military officials have said that Russia has increased bomber flights near U.S. coasts as part of a strategic messaging and influence operation.

   Northern Command commander Adm. William Gortney told reporters earlier this month that Russia is developing a more capable military than the former Soviet Union. Both flight missions and numbers of locations for the flights “have gone up,” Gortney said.

   The latest bomber mission near Alaska was described as provocative and dangerous by the Pentagon. At that time, a U.S. RC-135 intercepted the bomber.

Ukraine War Update - 2 May 2015

Saturday, May 2, 2015  7:05 AM PDT

No soldiers killed yesterday. Eight Ukrainian servicemen wounded - ATO speaker

   (Censor.NET) --- Eight Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the course of the anti-terrorist operation on May 1 with no deaths.

   This was stated at a briefing of the Presidential Administration ATO speaker, Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk, Censor.NET reports.

   According to him, the terrorists continue shelling the ATO forces' positions.

   "Over the past day by there were no deaths among the Ukrainian servicemen, while eight were wounded," Motuzianyk said.

   He also noted that according to the State Border Service, three enemy drone flights were recorded in the ATO area over the past day.

Saturday, May 2, 2015  6:36 AM PDT

Traffic police post on Brovary highway in Kyiv shot at from the woods

   (Censor.NET) --- In the middle of the night the premises of a traffic police post at Brovary highway were shot at by unknown persons.

   This is stated by the press service of the Kyiv police, Censor.NET reports.

   According to the Interior Ministry, the fire was conducted from the park belt area on the opposite side of the road. The police officers who were on duty, drivers and passers-by were not wounded.

   Personnel of the special purpose patrol service Kyiv-1 was also on duty at the police post.

   The law enforcement officers found shells from automatic weapon at the scene.

   "The Investigation Division of the Dniprovskyi district police included the information about the event into the Unified Register of pre-trial investigations. Criminal proceedings under pt. 1, Art. 348 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine have been initiated - "Attempt on life of a law enforcement officer, a member of the public formation for the protection of public order and state border or soldier," the report says.

   The article provides for punishment of imprisonment for a term of nine to fifteen years or life imprisonment.

   Law enforcers are taking measures to identify and detain the persons involved in the crime.

Saturday, May 2, 2015  5:47 AM PDT

Urals mercenaries about "LPR" - The militants are zombies, real animals. No regrets. All they do is steal. We were treated as invaders

   (Censor.NET) --- Journalists of Russian Novaya Gazeta went on the train together with mercenaries from the Urals, who changed their mind about fighting for the "LPR" and decided to go back to Russia, and found out the reasons why they decided not to stay in the Donbas.

   The men from the Urals say that Luhansk 'militias' they encountered are real animals, who are mainly engaged in robbing and looting, Censor.NET reports citing Novaya Gazeta.

   Earlier a conflict that occurred between the "LPR" militants and volunteers from Yekaterinburg was reported after the latter came to the Donbas. Now a Russian journalist was able to learn the details of what happened, talking to the leader of the Ural militants, Isetsky Cossack Ataman Vladimir Yefimov. According to him, fighting in Luhansk proved to be impossible, because of the prevailing lawlessness.

   "There is a rule of warlords, barons. They all get hooked on some resource - one takes away a supermarket, another one something else ... And they do is steal and steal ... So why are thing going so bad? Because they do not fight. They accumulate resources. I do not feel their patriotic enthusiasm," Yefimov told reporters.

   The mercenary compared life in Luhansk to a horror movie.

   "Have you read Andrey Kruz's The Era of the Dead? An eerie reading! In the book, the virus turned almost all the people into zombies. Those who were alive were fending off the monsters. And this world, where there are 5% of people is Luhansk (not in the book - ed.). The militias are zombies that are feeding of the remains of life. Real animals, with no regret, engaged in robbing. They did not even want to look at us. Even the dogs turned away from us. There are no people in the cities, no cars can be seen, it's all dull grey, there are wary glances. The attitude is like towards invaders. Especially in the territory that was freed after Debaltseve. In general, there are zombies all around, we lived in a prison, the food was repulsive, there was dark energy all around... Some kind of evil zone. As soon as we were out of Debaltseve I could see that people's faces became brighter. People are walking, smiling at us, welcoming us," Efimov described his unsuccessful trip to Luhansk.

   According to the article, the visitors who came from the Urals were not met with joy by the Prizrak (Ghost) brigade of Aleksey Mozgovoy, which they came to join. They did not receive "militia credentials". Weapons were only given when on duty - the volunteers suspect that Mozgovoy was afraid to arm foreign and not very loyal people. The fighters from the Urals learned how not to give up the guns after duty, but once they got their hands on too many of them, Mozgovoy's gunmen would break into the premises and disarm them all.

   Also, according to Efimov, his squad was housed in a former prison, where there was a garbage dump, so the Russians had to live in terrible conditions. In the end, many fighters simply refused to fight in these conditions, and preferred to return home to Russia.

   Efimov said that some of his militants remained to fight for the "LPR", but did it simply because they had no money for a return ticket to Ekaterinburg.

Saturday, May 2, 2015  3:00 AM PDT

Terrorists used heavy artillery near five towns and villages. A firefight took place near Pisky - ATO press center

   (Censor.NET) --- From 6 p.m. till midnight of May 1 Russian-terrorist forces violated the cease-fire 32 times. An armed clash also occurred during the period.

   This is reported by Censor.NET citing the press center of the ATO.

   "In the course of armed provocations the criminals used 120 mm mortars seven times and 122 mm artillery two times, which is a flagrant violation of the Minsk agreements. Thus, heavy artillery fire was opened against the anti-terrorist operation forces in the area of Avdiivka, Opytne, Pisky, Triokhizbenka, and Shyrokyne. The enemy also conducted eight shelling with the use of 82 mm mortars," the statement notes.

   It is also noted that in the Donetsk region gangs conducted shelling of the Ukrainian positions near Avdiivka using 120 mm mortars, 122 mm artillery and a tank.

   "An armed clash took place near the village of Pisky from 10:14 to 22:40 p.m. The personnel of the strong point opened dense fire from small arms and repelled the attackers," the headquarters noted.

   It is also reported that in the Luhansk region the most intensive fire at the ATO forces was opened by illegal armed groups in the area of Triokhizbenka from 120 mm mortars, automatic grenade launchers and machine guns.

   The headquarters informed that during the period eight enemy drone flights were recorded by Ukrainian units in the sky over the Donetsk region.

Saturday, May 2, 2015  12:49 AM PDT

Donbas rebels still hold 300 Ukraine army servicemen and civilians prisoners

   (Zik) --- The number of prisoners kept by Donbas rebels is about 300, including both servicemen and about 60 civilians, Yury Tandit, negotiator of the SBU center for the release of POW, said May 1, speaking on Kanak 5 TV.

   “The actual number can be even higher as many are still missing,” he explained.

   Some POWs have been taken to Russia where Russian secret services are trying to recruit them.

   “Despite our persistent efforts to get all POW exchanged or released, Donbas rebels are in no hurry - in violation of the Minsk agreements,” Tandit said.

Friday, May 1, 2015  14:41 PDT

Azov regiment trying to repel militants' offensive in Shyrokyne

   (UTR.TV) --- For more than an hour, Donbas militants have been standing on the offensive against the Ukrainian Azov regiment near the village of Shyrokyne, which is located not far from the Ukrainian-held city of Mariupol in Donetsk region.

   "The offensive in Shyrokyne has been lasting for almost an hour. Terrorists have been firing on the regiment's positions from 82mm- and 120mm-caliber mortars, automatic grenade launchers, heavy guns and small arms. Azov fighters are holding the positions and properly repelling the enemy's attack," the regiment wrote on its Facebook page on Friday evening.

   There is no information about casualties.

Friday, May 1, 2015  11:22 AM PDT

Ukraine servicemen criticize plans of their commanders to leave Shyrokine

   (Zik) --- If we retreat from Shyrokine, enemy will move Grads to shell Mariupol – Ukraine serviceman told our correspondent May 1.

   Shyrokine is the hottest place in Donbas, with Ukraine army positions shelled by heavy artillery and tanks every day, “Azov” battalion of volunteers serviceman

   The town is divided into two parts, with one controlled by Donbas rebels.

   Two Ukraine army battalions, “Azov” and “Donbas” are defending the town taking shifts.

   “We won’t retreat from Shyrokine. Too many of our brothers have been killed here. What had they died for if we retreated?, “Azov” servicemen say. 

   Ukraine leaders opt for the demilitarization of Shyrokine, but Ukraine servicemen think the retreat would be a defeat.

   There are several strategic elevations in Shyrokine which would give a wide and long range of fire to those who control them, Ukrainians say.

   If we withdraw, the enemy will move Grad missile batteries to shell Mariupol, “Azov” battalion servicemen say. 

Norway Takes Over NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission In Lithuania

Norwegian Lt. Col. Ivar Magne Sten (left) and Italian 

detachment leader Col. Marco Bertoli hand over a symbolic 

key in front of a Norwegian F-16 and a Italian Eurofighter 

Typhoon at Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania, April 30, 2015. 

Norwegian Air Force/Torbjørn Kjosvold 

   (IBT) --- Norway has taken over from Italy in leading NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission over Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The mission, which has been expanded because of increasing hostility from Russia over the last year, will involve the deployment of four Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets. Other NATO nations on the mission include Britain, as well as Italy and Belgium, which were part of the previous rotation and are continuing their involvement.

   The formal handover from Italy to Norway happened Thursday at Šiauliai airbase in Lithuania, with the first mission flying out of the base Friday. Norway is joined by four Italian Eurofighter Typhoons. Britain offers four of its own Typhoons flying out of Estonia, while Belgium will fly four F-16s out of Poland.

   The mission started in 2004 when Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia joined the alliance, but because they don’t have their own air forces, NATO takes on the responsibility for looking after their airspace.

   The Baltic mission was expanded in May 2014 because of Russia’s repeated flights in international airspace near to the Baltic countries. It forms part of a wider effort to counter Russia, after it annexed Crimea in March 2014 and became involved in the eastern Ukraine war since it began in April 2014.

   In 2014, NATO scrambled aircraft 150 times while responding to Russian activity near the Baltics -- four times as many flights as in 2013. The Norwegians will hand over command in four months to another NATO air force. 

Ukraine War Update - 1 May 2015

Friday, May 1, 2015  7:54 AM PDT

Kremlin denies Putin consented to peacekeepers in Donbas

   (UNIAN) --- The Kremlin has denied claims by officials in Kiev that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a peacekeeping force being deployed in the east of Ukraine, saying the Russian leader had only agreed to the idea in principle.

   Spokesman for the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that Russia considered incorrect the assertion from Kiev that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to the participation of peacekeepers in resolving the situation in the Donbas.

   According to Peskov, Moscow does not disagree with the idea of ​​bringing peacekeepers into the east of Ukraine, but this needs "agreement in Kiev and the Donbas," the BBC’s Russian Service reported.

   "The fact of the matter is that the Russian side has not challenged the idea of ​​peacekeepers. But this cannot be the decision of the Russian side or any other side guaranteeing the Minsk Agreement. That’s because this has first of all to be an agreement between the parties to the conflict," Peskov said.

   As UNIAN reported earlier, citing the press service of the Ukrainian President, yesterday during a telephone conversation in the "Normandy format" between Petro Poroshenko, Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin was reported to have agreed to possibility of a deployment of peacekeepers in the Donbas.

Friday, May 1, 2015  6:16 AM PDT

Two Ukrainian soldiers and two wounded over past 24 hours - NSDC

   (Censor.NET) --- Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and two were wounded during the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) on April 30.

   This was stated at a briefing of the ATO speaker Andrii Lysenko, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainian News.

   According to him, the terrorists continued shelling the positions of the ATO forces.

   Over the day recorded six enemy drone flight were recorded.

   On April 29 one soldier was killed and four wounded in the course of the ATO.

Friday, May 1, 2015  3:40 AM PDT

Terrorists used mortars and artillery to attack Ukrainian troops near Pisky and Avdiivka - ATO press center

   (Censor.NET) --- From 6 p.m. until midnight of April 30, Russian-terrorist forces violated the cease-fire 21 times.

   This is reported by Censor.NET citing the press center of the ATO.

   According to the HQ, the criminals opened fire on the positions of Ukrainian troops using 120 mm mortars and 122 mm artillery, which is a flagrant violation of the Minsk agreements.

   "In the Donetsk region our positions near Avdiivka were shelled by 122 mm artillery. In the same area the enemy used 120 mm mortars, heavy machine guns and small arms. In addition, the criminals fired at a stronghold of the ATO forces near Pisky five times using 120 mm and 82 mm mortars, automatic grenade launchers, sniper and small arms. Our positions near Vodiane and Novhorodske were also shelled by mortars," the report says.

   The headquarters also noted that in the Luhansk region the gangs used heavy machine guns and automatic grenade launchers against strongholds near Shchastia and Syze.

   "During this period, Ukrainian units recorded two enemy drone flights in the Donetsk and Luhansk region," the press-center of the ATO concluded.

Friday, May 1, 2015  3:28 AM PDT

Communist rally ends in Kiev

   (Interfax) --- A rally of the Communist Party of Ukraine has come to an end on the premises of the Great Patriotic War Museum in Kiev.

   People are leaving the museum territory, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

   All is quiet, but the police are staying in the museum for now.

   Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko addressed the rally, and a resolution was adopted, calling for early parliament elections and the end to the war in Donbas.

   The young persons who tried to reach the communist rally site but were stopped by the police have also left the museum.

   About 50 persons carrying the national flag went down Lavrska Street towards the Arsenalna metro station. They were accompanied by the police.

Friday, May 1, 2015  3:17 AM PDT

Ukrainian army positions attacked 21 times on Thursday evening – ATO press center

   (Interfax) --- Militants in Donbas committed 21 violations of the ceasefire regime, among them by use of artillery guns, in the period from 18.00 through midnight on Thursday, the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) press service reported.

   "Twenty-one violations of the cease regime were committed in the period from 18.00 through midnight. Ukrainian army positions were put under fire of 120mm mortars and 122mm artillery pieces, which was a flagrant violation of the Minsk agreements," the press center wrote on Facebook on Friday morning.

   Militants fired 122mm artillery rounds at army positions near Avdiyivka in Donetsk region. They also used 120mm mortars, large-caliber machineguns and small arms, the press center said.

   Besides, militants conducted five attacks on an army roadblock near Pisky by use of 120mm and 82mm mortars, automatic grenade launchers, sniper rifles and small arms. Mortars shelled positions near the towns of Vodyane and Novhorodske, it noted.

   They fired large-caliber machineguns and automatic grenade launchers at army strongholds near the town of Schastia and the village of Syze in Luhansk region.

   "Ukrainian units stationed in Donetsk and Luhansk regions saw two hostile drones fly by in the reporting period," the press center added.

Friday, May 1, 2015  2:38 AM PDT

Police detain 15 young people near communist rally site in Kiev

   (Interfax) --- The police have detained 15 young persons wearing masks who tried to provoke participants in the communist rally near the Great Patriotic War Museum in Kiev, the city police department told Interfax.-Ukraine

   The department said the detainees were taken to a police station, which would look into circumstances of the incident. The police had to detain the young persons in order to prevent escalation of tensions, provocations and confrontation, the department underlined.

Friday, May 1, 2015  2:37 AM PDT

War to end when Ukraine regains Donbas, Crimea - Poroshenko

   (Interfax) --- The war will be over for Ukraine only when it regains Donbas and Crimea, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

   "The war will be over when Ukraine regains Donbas and Crimea. How long will it take? As long as necessary," the president told the STB channel on Thursday evening.

Thursday, Apr. 30 2015, 14:54 PDT

NATO's top commander: Russian forces seeking to "reset and reposition"

   (UNIAN) --- U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, the NATO supreme allied commander, says Russian forces have been seeking to "reset and reposition", despite the Donbas ceasefire agreed in February.

   "Many of their actions are consistent with preparations for another offensive," Breedlove told the U.S. Congress on Thursday, Reuters reported.

   Breedlove acknowledged he could not predict Moscow's next move but characterized its ongoing actions as "preparing, training and equipping to have the capacity to again take an offensive."

   "In the past they have not wasted their effort," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

   Breedlove said Russia was seeking to tighten its grip over separatist fighters, bolstering its command and control "because there was disunity in some of the earlier attacks."

   "We do see a very distinct Russian set of command and control in the eastern part of Ukraine," he said.

   "Command-and-control, air defense, support to artillery, all of these things increased ... making a more coherent, organized force out of the separatists."

   The United States says Russia now has its largest force on the border with Ukraine since October and has deployed additional air defense systems, the biggest number since August.

   Russia every time denies any statements made by Western politicians and international experts about its direct involvement in the Donbas conflict.

   General Breedlove earlier claimed that the West must wage an information war with Russia in order to counter its "false stories" in social networks.

NATO to hold anti-submarine warfare exercise in Norway

   Oslo (AFP) --- Norway said Thursday that up to 5,000 NATO troops would take part in anti-submarine warfare exercises off its coast in early May, amid growing regional unease over suspected submarine sightings.

   More than 10 ships and submarines as well as aircraft and helicopters would participate in the exercise between May 4 and 13 in the North Sea and in Skagerrak, the strait between Norway and Denmark.

   The drills will take place against a backdrop of growing Russian military activity in the region, and as Moscow and NATO face their worst crisis since the Cold War due to the conflict in Ukraine.

   Neighbouring Finland, which is not a member of the military alliance, said on Tuesday that its navy had fired warning shots at a possible submarine in the waters off Helsinki.

   In October, armed forces in Sweden -- also not a NATO member -- hunted unsuccessfully for a week for what they believed to be a foreign submarine in waters close to Stockholm after several observations were made.

   "There is no link between the exercise, planned for a long time, and what happened in Sweden and Finland," Brynjar Stordal, a spokesman for the Norwegian army, told AFP.

   "But what happened in those countries further demonstrates the relevance of such an exercise," he added.

   Norway, the northernmost NATO member to share a border with Russia, last year noted an increase in Russian military activity as Moscow grows its military presence in the Arctic.

Lithuania Protests Russia’s Disruptive Naval Activities

   (VOA News) --- Lithuania sent a protest note to Russia Thursday for repeated naval activities in its exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea.

   The foreign ministry of the Baltic state summoned the Russian ambassador in Vilnius to deliver the protest accusing the Kremlin's warships of disrupting peaceful shipping and economic activity of the country.

   Similar incidents have occurred on March 19, April 10 and April 24, for which Lithuania sent protest notes to Russia’s foreign ministry, but did not receive any response.

   Russian authorities have never asked Lithuanian institutions or received any prior authorization for such activities in the exclusive economic zone of Lithuania, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

   In the note, Lithuania demands that Russia ceases interfering with international shipping and economic activities in the exclusive economic zone of Lithuania, and comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that prescribes sovereign rights of coastal states in their exclusive economic zones.

   Lithuania coordinates its activities with Sweden and claims the Russian Navy is attempting "to interfere with the construction work of the sea cable ‘NordBalt.’ "

   The 400-kilometer underwater cable link is expected to bring the Baltic EU states into the energy grid of their Nordic partners, intended to reduce the dependency on Russian supplies.

   The link is estimated to cost $615 million and stretch from the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda to Nybro in Sweden.

   The operation is scheduled to start in December 2015.