Dmitry Tymchuk, Head of the Center for Military and Political Research, Coordinator of the Information Resistance group, Member of Parliament (People’s Front)
12.18.2014
Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

Operational data from Information Resistance:

Over the past 24 hours, we observed the regrouping of insurgents in the northern districts of Donetsk. ‘Motorola’s’ [leading Russian mercenary Arseny Pavlov], resupplied gang and several units of Russian troops have been put into the front line again. Ammunition is being supplied to the front line by civilian transport. There are several (up to five) roving mortar detachments operating in the area. In addition, terrorists moved a Zu-23-2 anti-aircraft autocannon on a cargo truck towards the settlement of Spartak.

A company tactical group of the Russian Armed Forces (manned with servicemen from two separate motorized rifle brigades of the Southern Military District) moved from Telmanove towards the settlements of Starohnativka and Novolaspa with an artillery group. This is the tactical group which, as reported earlier by IR, lost at least one tank and one artillery system as a result of a confrontation near Hranitne and moved deeper into the combat formations of the Russian-terrorist troops for further mobilization.

A conflict is currently underway inside the LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic] located in the settlement of Krasnodon. The cause of the conflict is the takeover by one of the terrorist groups of a secret base (insurgents call it “a staging warehouse”) with smuggled goods that belong to another armed gang.

The “rightful owners” of the smuggled goods demand the return of the seized property under the threat of tanks (for this purpose, [they] brought two tanks into the city, one of which stalled at the entrance). There are tense negotiations between the parties to the conflict.

A tense situation remains in the vicinity of the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska. Another reinforcement from Luhansk arrived into the area to the availability of Russian-terrorist troops – up to 130 insurgents, two anti-tank artillery guns MT-12 “Rapier,” 7 armored combat vehicles (including 2 MT-LBs, armored multi-purpose towing vehicles).

Overall, the removal of weapons and enemy personnel in the Luhansk direction has been observed exclusively on the left flank, towards a shallow depth (in the vicinity of Pervomaisk – Stakhanov). In other parts of the front, the Russian-terrorist forces continue to keep the artillery and armored vehicles at the forefront, conducting regular attacks on the frontline positions of Ukrainian troops.

Source: Dmitry Tymchuk FB