Kyiv, December 29, 2015. On December 22 the 9th motor-rifle regiment of the first army corps of the Russian Federation Armed Forces seized Kominternove located in the “grey zone” supported by armored vehicles and an 82-mm mortar unit.
They took hold of the western outskirts and started installing engineering equipment and fortifications as well as started mining the area, said Vadym Skibitskyi, representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate at Ukraine’s Defense Ministry at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. He said from the legal standpoint such actions did not violate the Minsk agreements, however they took place right when the Trilateral Contact Group agreed unconditional ceasefire in the ATO zone. “The seizure aimed at instigating provocations in order to engage Ukrainian troops in combat and provide comprehensive proof of alleged violation of Minsk agreements by the Ukrainian side,” explained Colonel Anatoliy Bargylevych, representative of the General Staff of Ukraine. He added that the town is not of strategic importance.
Colonel Barhylevych said Ukrainian troops reinforced intelligence activities and put all equipment on combat alert but did not get to provocations and refrained from combat response. They also called the monitors of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to the spot. As a result militants had to withdraw a part of equipment and personnel from the town. At the same time as per intelligence reports militants increase their presence in Kominternove under the guise of civilians. These “peaceful residents” also provided testimony to the OSCE SMM saying that “Ukrainian troops were entering the town from time to time”.
Skibitskyi noted that militants’ provocative actions continued on December 27. Sniper also fired upon the representatives of the OSCE SMM. Shells landed seven-eight meters away from the monitors. “Colonel Rustam Yakubov of the Russian Federation was personally controlling the operation,” added representative of the General Staff. As of December 29 80-100 militants are deployed to Kominternove. A part of them keep presenting themselves as civilians.
Militant groups were not permanently deployed to this town earlier. However the town was controlled by mobile brigades of the 9th motor-rifle regiment of the first army corps. According to the Ukrainian legislation Kominternove is part of the defined districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions where special order of the local self-governance is to be introduced.