Kyiv, July 29, 2014 – Ukrainian troops have entered Shakhtarsk and Torez in Donetsk oblast and Lutugyno in Luhansk oblast. Combat to fully liberate Pervomaysk, the town in Luhansk oblast and the town of Snizhne in Donetsk oblast continues. Throughout the last 24 hours, ATO troops, moving towards Pervomaysk, released the locality of Stepanivka. This was reported by the spokesman of the NSDC Information Center Colonel Andriy Lysenko during a press briefing in Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “Battle continues around Pervomaysk and Alchevsk, as well as establishment of control over the Marynivka corridor. Within the past day this was only terrorists who conducted several counterattacks on Savur-Mohyla, a hill which had been occupied yesterday by Ukrainian servicemen. They are trying to return the height which they frequently used to hit fire at ATO troops. The Ukrainian soldiers successfully rebuked all counterattacks. As a result, over 100 mercenaries, 10 units of armored machinery and 12 artillery systems were eliminated,” noted Andriy Lysenko. According to the State Border Service, the terrorists near Savur-Mohyla had fire support from Russian soldiers located near the village of Novoolexandrivske. Multiple rocket launchers “Grad” fired at a distance of 200-300 meters from the border.
Within the last 24 hours the ATO aviation conducted 10 flights. The artillery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces made five mass fire attacks on the terrorists’ positions, which were located outside of localities. As a result, a significant amount of mercenaries and armored equipment have been destroyed.
ATO forces are still under fire from the territory of the Russian Federation. “Within the last day, fire was opened at the positions of the Ukrainian troops near the village of Stanytsia Luhanska, border checkpoint “Krasna Talivka” and positions on Savur-Mohyla. Near Krasna Talivka, the border troops ended up in the zone of distance-detonated fugasse mines, they were shot at using mine launchers, but they accepted the battle and destroyed the terrorists’ positions. As a result of combat, 10 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen died, 55 Ukrainian servicemen were wounded throughout the day. All the wounded have been taken to medical institutions and given appropriate medical care,” reported the NSDC Information Centre spokesman at the press briefing.
The Russian Federation continues to buid up its troops at the border. The Russian Armed Forces are relocating their divisions near the Ukraine-Russia border. “In the suburbs of the Russian village of Podol-Gora, 7 kilometers away from Sumy oblast, a military camp has been set up. 6 armored personnel carriers have been delivered to “Urazovo” railway station, which is across from Kharkiv oblast. We have detected 29 Ka-52 helicopters and two military jets based at the airport of the town of Valuyka in Bielgorod oblast, 18 kilometers from the border, across from the “Topoli” division of the Kharkiv border service. Near the localities of Donetsk and Kamyansk-Shakhtinskiy of Rostov oblast, across from the “Izvarine” border checkpoint, we have documented the formation of a column of military equipment of the Russian Armed forces, consisting of 16 KamAZ truck, which were headed towards Ukrainian territory. On the M-04 road “Don” we detected the movement of tows with 10 T-64 tanks and 3 “Ural” vehicles towards the border with Luhansk oblast,” noted Andriy Lysenko.
Significant groups of the Russian army are concentrated across from the area of the Luhansk border troop. 8 amphibious tracked infantry fighting BMD vehicles were discovered on the Shramko (RF) – Ulyanivske (25 km from the border) road. On the road between Selezniovo (RD) and Vasylivka (within 50 km from the border) troops of the Russian armed forces with armored equipment have set up camp. Near the locality of Novomykolayivka in Rostov oblast, up 20 armored machinery units have been registered. Near the village of Selezniovo of Rostov oblast, up to 10 units of armored equipment and KamAZ vehicles have been accumulated. Near the village of Katerynivka of Rostov oblast we have documented a significant amount of armored equipment and up to 40 “Grad” system units. According to the information at our disposal, a control point has been set up in the village of Anastasiyivka in Rostov oblast, a big accumulation of Russian troops has been documented (BMP, BTR, BMD, tanks, artillery systems, “Grad” systems). The Russian servicemen are writing about this on social networks themselves. “Russian checkpoints “Kuymyshevo,” “Marynivka” on the Ukrainian side, Donetsk oblast, and “Novoshakhtynsk” across from Luhansk oblast “Dovzhansky” checkpoint are closed, transport and people are not being let through. And this is not surprising, taking into account what the Russians have done to the Ukrainian checkpoint ‘Dovzhansky’,” added the NSDC IC spokesman.
Andriy Lysenko noted that the information about weapon supplies from Crimea to Donetsk through the Azov sea has not been confirmed by a single law enforcement or defense institution of Ukraine. 7 marine boat tactical groups of the Naval Defense department of the Border Service of Ukraine are serving to cover the sea territory of the state border in Azov sea and prevent armed formations from entering the shore within Donetsk, Zaporizhya, Kherson oblast, means of terror and raid security of Mariupol, Berdyansk and Henichensk ports. Another 5 ships and 9 speedboats are on duty and prepared for action.
The mercenaries continue shooting at living quarters. As such, the terrorists opened fire at the central part of Horlivka, which resulted in a cut off of electricity supplies to the living quarters of Debaltsevo, the center of Amvrosiyivka, apartment blocks in the villa of Manych in Amvrosiyivka district.
Terrorists continue destroying the infrastructure. “In Donetsk oblast the mercenaries blew up the railways at the 41st kilometer between Poznykove and Tores, as well as the pedestrian bridge near Khartsyzk. In Donetsk oblast, the terrorists mined the bridge and the dam in the town of Zugres, as well as between the villages of Zarichne and Zuyivka near Khartsyzk, bridges near “Zuyivskiy Energy-Mechanical plant,” near “Suputnyk” children’s camp and over the river of Krynka. Despite the agreements made, the terrorists did not allow to evacuate the children from the Donetsk orphanage to Mariupol and took them to an unknown location,” reported Andriy Lysenko.
Yesterday the report of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights contained evidence that the terrorists are using the civilians as a “live shield.” “The Monitoring mission of the UN on human rights between June 8 and July 15 continues documenting instances of grave violation of human rights on part of the terrorists, first and foremost, the right to life. Now not only individuals, but entire cities and villages are used as a “live shield” by the terrorists. The armed mercenaries kidnap the civilians for ransom, to exchange them or use them as a workforce, frequently torture and kill the hostages,” noted the NSDC spokesman. According to the Monitoring mission, since mid-April the terrorists in the east of Ukraine kidnapped hundreds of people. Among them are 46 journalists, 112 policemen, 91 soldiers and border servicemen, 26 OSCE representatives, 22 local council members, members of political parties and heads of the local councils. The fate of 375 people remains unknown.
The Ukrainian MFA states that the High Commissioner of the UN avoids emphasis on the primary reasons of this situation in his report: the heightened illegal activity of illegal armed formations, their refusal to adhere to the peace plan proposed by the President of Ukraine, Russia’s constant support of the terrorists by means of weapons supplies, military equipment and mercenaries, the continuation of terror in regard to the civilians, kidnappings and looting, as well as the growing threat not only to the security of Ukraine, but the region and the world, as was indicated by the “Malaysia Airlines” plane crash.
Yesterday, after talks between the Presidents of the US, France, as well as heads of the German, UK and Italian government, the agreement was reached regarding the necessity of implementing new sanctions regarding Russia. “In their joint statement the leaders of the countries noted that despite numerous calls to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia is not trying to influence the mercenaries. Also Russia is not making any real steps to establish control over the border with Ukraine. The work draft of the decision regarding the first stage of sectoral sanctions is to be approved today, on July 29. These limitations will be the first to touch on entire Russian industries, and not individual people or companies. According to preliminary calculations, the effect of the sectoral sanctions may reach 100 billion Euro in two years,” reported Andriy Lysenko.
