Voices of Ukraine

Dmitry Tymchuk, Head of the Center for Military and Political Research, Coordinator of the Information Resistance group, Member of Parliament (People’s Front)
10.15.2015
Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

Operational data from Information Resistance:

In the past few days, the number of armed provocations by Russian-terrorist forces in Donbas has reduced somewhat, while militant infantry groups and sabotage and reconnaissance units continue to be active in certain areas.

Ukrainian soldiers. Source

Several militant infantry groups (each numbering 15-20 personnel) are active again in the “neutral zone” and on the front line near Zaitseve (north of Horlivka). The militant groups are carrying out maneuvers and surveillance. Firing in the direction of the Ukrainian positions with small arms has been reported.

Similar terrorist groups are operating near Berezove and Novotroitske (south of Donetsk). In addition, several 82 mm mortar rounds were fired from positions behind the militants’ lines along this stretch.

On the front line, near Sakhanka and Shyrokyne, movement of militant infantry groups and transportation of weapons to new positions were observed. Activity by terrorist sabotage and reconnaissance units was recorded north of Myronivske and Troitske.

Militant scouts and sniper units have been spotted in the sectors southeast of Krymske and near Shchastya, Stanytsia Luhanska and Syze.

Near Spartak, militant artillery weapon positions (eight type 2A65 “Msta-B” 152 mm guns) have been identified 10 km from the demarcation line. Observed in the same area were six “Gvozdika”122 mm 2S1 self-propelled guns in marching formation.

Between Khartsyzk and Zuhres (close to Hirne), two militant “Tor-M1” air defense missile systems were seen on the march.

Vetting of staff of the so-called “Ministry of State Security of the Luhansk People’s Republic [LNR MGB]” has begun, with the aid of psychologists and a lie-detector. The first round of checks is being done on staff members hired from the local community, in order to uncover agents of the Ukrainian special services and law enforcement agencies. Up to 10 employees of this department undergo the check every day.

A member of the so-called “People’s Council of the LNR,” Mikhail Kukoev (aka “Head of the LNR Ministry of Internal Affairs special department for investigating the war crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”) is planning to publish “statistical data on crimes against the LNR committed by the Ukrainian authorities.”

A meeting of representatives of “LNR” institutions was held in Rostov-on-Don (Russian Federation), led and managed by the Kremlin’s “overseers.” The main issue on the agenda was tariffs and pricing for municipal services and public transport in the occupied parts of Luhansk oblast.

The Kremlin “overseers” ordered that “the leaders and members of the National Council of the LNR” should only review “legislative bills” or amendments after they had been approved by the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.

Source: Dmitry Tymchuk FB

This translation work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The rights pertaining to the original work remain unaffected.

Dmitry Tymchuk, Head of the Center for Military and Political Research, Coordinator of the Information Resistance group, Member of Parliament (People’s Front)
10.14.2015
Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

Operational data from Information Resistance:

In the ATO area in Donbas, fire strikes by Russian-terrorist troops continue, mostly with the use of small arms (in addition, terrorists used 82 mm mortars, heavy machine guns, and AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers). Militants use weapons to accomplish two main missions: to cover the “entry-exit” of their sabotage and reconnaissance groups into the rear of the ATO forces, and to attempt to provoke the return fire of Ukrainian troops.

The enemy actively uses specialized weapons and equipment, which allows them to operate quietly and discreetly (silencers, night-time and day-time optoelectronic devices, scanners, etc.). The increased presence of Spetsnaz sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Russian intelligence services is observed at the first line of the front (GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, the Russian Federal Security Service). These sabotage and reconnaissance groups are distinguished by their use of “mine traps,” attempts to conduct short firing raids on the isolated strongholds (positions) of the Ukrainian troops, etc.

“Morning coffee in the ATO. Serving the people of Ukraine.” @Huyovyi_Kolhoz

The activity of Russian-terrorist forces is observed in the following areas:

– Practically along the entire length of sector “A” (especially along the Seversky Donets River), a never-ending “war of small groups” (raids, ambushes, counter-ambushes, roadside bombs) is observed;

– In the area of Luhanske–Myronivske–Troitske (up to the outskirts of Popasna), sniper groups  are operating under cover of mortar fire and heavy machine guns;

– From Shumy and Mayorske to Avdiivka, militant sabotage and reconnaissance groups repeatedly tried to penetrate into the rear of the Ukrainian troops; on several occasions, terrorists used armored vehicles;

– In the area of ​​the Donetsk Airport, [the enemy] attempted to fire at the positions of ATO forces from the “neutral [demarcation] line;” sniper operations were observed; the enemy tried to operate with small infantry and reconnaissance groups, including [the groups] under cover of armored vehicles;

– From Mar’inka and practically as far as Hranitne and Mykolayivka, as well as in the area of Mariupol, Sakhanka, Shyrokyne, Pavlopil, and Chermalyk, militants used small arms, as well as 82 mm mortars and AGS-17; the activity of sabotage and reconnaissance groups was also observed.

The enemy is reinforcing their formation in the area of Donetsk–Khartsyzsk–Shakhtarsk–Snizhne by using forces withdrawn from the Horlivka bridgehead (which is presented as “withdrawal of equipment and weapons” – heavy armored vehicles and weapons with a caliber of less than 100 mm). A militant tank company was transferred to the vicinity of Shakhtarsk (T-64B tanks).

A combined terrorist unit was transferred to the Petrovskyi district of Donetsk (about 220 people in total, the transfer took place in groups of 25-30 people), with two automatic 2B9 “Vasilek” [“Cornflower”] mortars, five 12.7 mm caliber machine guns, and four units of SPG-9 “Kopye” [“Spear”]. This unit arrived to reinforce the Krasnohorivka–Mar’inka direction.

In the area of Lyman-Tsvitni Pisky (north of Stukalova Balka), “LNR” militants set up their frontline base under the guise of a “transit point to withdraw equipment” which, if necessary, would allow [them] to deploy a strike group of 2-3 reinforced battalions (one of them a tank battalion) in the vicinity of ​​Shchastya–Stanytsia Luhanska.

The so-called “Ministry of State Security of the DNR” is conducting several investigations into the “disappearances” of weapons and ammunition in “DNR” gangs. In one of the cases, such “disappearance” involved more than 200 units of small arms.

Source: Dmitry Tymchuk FB

This translation work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The rights pertaining to the original work remain unaffected.

Dmitry Tymchuk, Head of the Center for Military and Political Research, Coordinator of the Information Resistance group, Member of Parliament (People’s Front)
10.13.2015
Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine
Photograph by Noah Brooks, used with permission

Operational data from Information Resistance:

During the past few days, Russian-terrorist forces in Donbas have continued their activity to provoke Ukrainian troops into an en masse use of weapons. In order to keep a video record of the outcome of these provocations, the so-called “Ministry of State Security of the Donetsk People’s Republic [DNR]” has set up a temporary unit, with whom a group of 20 Russian media representatives newly arrived in Donetsk is coordinating. The Russian journalists are not only tasked with “recording the shelling of civilians by the Ukrainian military,” but are also “consulted” on how to stage provocations. One of their main objectives is to have instances of ATO forces opening fire logged by officials of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission [OSCE SMM]. The provocations are consequently synchronised with the inspection visit schedule of the OSCE patrols.

The “cast of actors” is drawn from of a number of militant “sub-formations” in the following areas:
• Starohnativka – Hranitne
• Pisky – Opytne – Donetsk International Airport [DAP]
• Luhanske – Myronivske – Troitske – Popasna
•  northern districts of Horlivka

Typically, the provocations are presented as “random” firing (shots “in the direction” of Ukrainian positions from small automatic weapons and heavy machine guns). In addition, over the past several days, terrorists have been detonating 82-mm mortar shells in the neutral zone in the above areas. Several militant infantry groups have also been observed in the “greenery,” trying to identify the movement of Ukrainian troops at the front line.

An isolated case of militants using a “Kopye” [Spear] SPG-9 tripod-mounted anti-tank grenade launcher was recorded north-west of the Donetsk Airport. Small-arms fire is almost a regular occurrence south of Donetsk (Starohnativka and Hranitne, Novotroitske), as well as in Shumy, Mayorsk, Zaitseve, Luhanske, Troitske, Orikhove, and Mar’inka; it is less frequent between Pavlopil and Chermalyk, in Shyrokyne, Shchastya, Syze, Novotoshkivka, and Krymske. The fire is unaimed, in keeping with the terrorists’ deliberate attempts to provoke the ATO forces into returning fire.

War-torn Shyrokyne. Photograph by Noah Brooks

Source: Dmitry Tymchuk FB

This translation work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The rights pertaining to the original work remain unaffected.