AZOV Battalion

FREE UKRAINE

AZOV Battalion -

FREE UKRAINE

Putin wants to open “second front” by Sea of Azov

The activities of terrorists and Russian soldiers on the Sea of Azov Coast in Ukraine are evidence of Putin’s desire to create a corridor from the Donetsk People’s Republic  (DNR) to Russia in order to rescue the terrorist republic.

 

On Ukraine’s Independence Day, Putin’s terrorists reported “significant progress” on the front. In particular, Putin’s mass media widely distributed reports on the capture of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk Oblast and the village of Telmanovo in the Donetsk Oblast, as well as the advance on Mariupol and Novoazovsk.

 

Subsequently, the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation) press center denied this information. However, the terrorist’s attempt to become more active is real. Specifically, an attack on the village of Olenivka has been reported, which is on the H20 highway  that connects Donetsk and Mariupol. At the same time, Russian troops from Russian territory fired on the border crossing point of Novoazovsk and Amvrosiyivka.

 

In fact, access to the Sea of Azov in the Novoazovsk and Mariupol area is vitally important for the DNR terrorists because it enables them to take advantage of yet another gap in the Ukrainian-Russian border — both on land (Novoazovsk checkpoint) and by sea. If the terrorists secure their hold on the Azov coast, Putin will be able to deliver DNR reinforcements directly by sea from occupied Crimea.

 Despite the fact that large sections of the border are not under Ukraine’s control and are being used to supply the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR), the Donetsk terrorists are almost cut off from Russian supplies.

 

However, it is more likely that today’s announcement on progress in gaining access to the Sea of Azov are more wishful thinking than reality. Similar declarations are intended to spoil Independence Day celebrations for Ukrainians, to raise the morale of the terrorists, whose chances to hold on to conquered territory without direct Russian military intrusion are still rather bleak, and to demonstrate to average Russians, who believe only their own media, that the state of affairs in the “Novorossiya” project is not that bad. The last reason is particularly relevant in light of the Russian scandal regarding the destruction and disappearance of the Pskov paratrooper division in the Donbas.

 

 (Russia’s Pskov Airborne Assault Division was destroyed on August 21 by the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Shtorm battalion from Odesa — Ed.)

 

It is also worth noting that there is no good evidence currently that Mariupol is under threat of terrorist occupation. The entire course of the war in the Donbas has progressed according to the same scenario. First a city, unable to defend itself due to a demoralized and disloyal police, would be seized with the help of Russian mercenaries and terrorists. Then terrorists would occupy the seized territory and fend off advancing ATO forces as much as possible while destroying local residents and infrastructure. The only thing that still enables the terrorists to hold on to their positions is the constant flow of Russian equipment and manpower and the shelling of Ukrainian forces from across the border.

 

However, the situation in the Donbas has changed somewhat over the past several months. The local population, which initially supported DNR and LNR, has understood exactly what  the “Russian Spring” brings to the Donbas: murders, kidnappings, torture, robbery, hunger and poverty. Therefore, it is unlikely that the terrorists, who are being squeezed from practically all sides and who have been fighting back all this time while hiding behind civilians, would have the capabilities to fundamentally change their tactics and deploy a massive offensive to take control of new cities, where residents now definitely do not support them and would do everything possible to prevent their arrival.

 

On August 25, Ukrainian  media, citing a Ukrainian border guard, reported on the intrusion of Russian military equipment near Novoazovsk. ATO spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi does not yet have confirmation for this information.

 

Meanwhile, the deputy commander of the Azov  defense battalion Ihor Mosiychuk stated that fighting is taking place near Novoazovsk and that terrorists have received reinforcements from Russia. He believes the militants are mounting an offensive on Novoazovsk and Mariupol.

 

Later, the ATO press center confirmed that a column of Russian armored vehicles attempted to break through in the vicinity of the Shcherbak-Novoazivsk population centers, but that they were largely blocked. At the National Security and Defense Council it was announced that ATO forces are controlling the road between Novoazovsk and Mariupol.

 

According to the National Guard, ATO forces destroyed two terrorist tanks near Novoazovsk.

UKRAINE - NSC NEWS & ANALYSIS CENTER BRIEFING at 17:30 AUGUST 12, 2014

Military action in the conflict zone

The combined forces of the Azov, Dnipro, Donbas and Shakhtarsk special volunteer battalions freed the towns of Pervomaisk, Kamyshevakha and Kalinovo. On these territories, groups of RF Special Forces were exposed and destroyed, along with some 30 terrorists. In addition to this, Ukrainian Armed Forces units liberated the town of Ugledar and raised the national flag on the central building, Andriy Lysenko, spokesperson for the National Security Council’s News & Analysis Center, reported at the Center’s evening briefing, August 12, 2014.

At an ATO blockade between Horlivka and Yasynuvata, a car with three terrorists in it was destroyed. The men were carrying a huge number of weapons and explosives.

In the city of Shchastia, Aidar volunteer fighters arrested the Mayor of Artemivsk and another person, both of whom had cooperated with the terrorists. At the moment, they are providing testimony.

During the day, ATO forces exchanged fire with terrorists 5 times in the areas around Nyzhnia Vilkhova, Nyzhnioteple, Zemliane, Verhunskiy Rozyizd, and Stepanivka.

A successful military operation by ATO forces left terrorists in the area around Horlivka cut off from DNR. ATO forces are preparing for a further offensive in a number of directions simultaneously. Fighting went on in the areas around Donetsk, Luhansk, Horlivka and Ilovaisk. At the same time, joint air and artillery efforts neutralized one grouping of terrorists who were intended to reinforce the defense of militants around Shakhtarsk, Torez and Snizhne.

Meanwhile, the offensive by ATO forces has increased pressure on the terrorists in eastern Ukraine, leading to more conflict among the terrorists themselves as they begin to feel the lack of weapons, ammunition, supplies and means of communication. For instance, OPLOT militants in Donetsk Oblast, who are under the command of a field commander called “Tor,” shot at a convoy of trucks with wounded fighters from the Narodovyzvolniy Rukh [People’s Liberation Movement], run by a leader called “Grek.”

The border area

The situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border remains tense. Today, starting at 11:15, border guards and terrorists near the village of Pobyeda in Donetsk Oblast exchanged fire for nearly an hour. The militants used firearms to attack the border patrol, which was guarding the state border. The patrol opened fire in response and repelled the attack.

Population centers in the conflict zone

The territory under the control of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) is now under the decree of V. Bolotov, which prohibits exiting and crossing the border with Russia for all those age 16 to 60 because mobilization has been declared on the “republic’s territory. Predictions are that a similar ukase will be announced shortly by the leaders of DNR as well.

The terrorists continue to shoot at populated areas. In Makiyivka, Donetsk Oblast, the filtration station that supplies potable water to most of the districts of the city was damaged. In the suburb of Zeleniy in Makiyivka, terrorists have been broadly abducting people and holding them in the basement of the former Organized Crime Department. At the moment, they are holding 34 individuals and are asking UAH 3,000 [US $225] for the release of each of them.

The militants also continue to booby-trap infrastructure. Near the town of Nyzhnia Krynka under Makiyivka City Hall, militants mined a bridge and say they will blow it up if ATO forces start moving across it.

Because of the extensive damage to water supply systems because of the conflict, the terrorists in Luhansk could find themselves facing the real threat of a rise in various kinds of infections. The city still has no power which means people cannot keep food in their refrigerators. This also risks widespread digestive disorders, such as dysentery, viral hepatitis, and so on, during the hot weather—plus the added risk that the pathogens will be taken to other parts of the country. Another factor in the spread of epidemics is the extensive period that waste has been collecting in the city.

Today, IDPs from population centers currently in the conflict zone will receive humanitarian assistance. They will be given it by National Guard servicemen at the refugee center in Mariupol People will get foodstuff and other basic items. Ukraine’s servicemen have been sharing their food and things that they have been receiving from volunteers and local residents for a long time now.

The crime situation is worsening in those places where the militants are in charge. Many cases of marauding by terrorists have been reported, as these men are illegally verifying documents, surrounding designated districts, or announcing that they will shoot if people don’t allow them to search their apartments or check their personal documents and property on the streets of the city. While inspecting the property of civilians, they confiscate valuables. A large part of the militants believe that the leadership of DNR has betrayed them and left them on their own. Another fact is that they haven’t been given money to live on. As a result, desertions are on the rise and insubordination during combat.

Saboteur teams continue to operate on the territories liberated, shooting at ATO forces roadblocks from civilian cars. There is potential for attempted sabotage of infrastructure.

International support

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkiavicius has stated that the international community can no longer trust Russia, which has announced the shipment of 280 trucks with “humanitarian” aid. Linkiavicius says that Ukraine’s current troubles are all the result of the terrorists so any aid provided should be exclusively on that basis acceptable to Ukraine.

Linkiavicius also noted that people clearly needed humanitarian assistance and that they were living without electricity, water and basic goods, but this had to be agreed with the Government of Ukraine and that it had to be an international mission involving the Red Cross. The diplomat added that the European community could not trust any statements coming out of Russia and reminded people that armored vehicles were painted over to the colors of “peacekeeping” contingents and were waiting to cross the border. According to Linkiavicius, everything that happens in Ukraine needs to be with the knowledge and approval of the Ukrainian government: if Ukraine has not given the go-ahead, then any move could be seen as aggression, as an aggressive act.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy, 16,000 basic hygiene kits have been handed out as charitable assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the ATO zone. This assistance will come from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) according to a previous agreement. The Fund will deliver these kits to the State Emergency Service as the coordinator of the Interagency Coordination Office, which will then distribute it to its regional offices.

In a First, a Russian Warship Docks in Israel

Russia’s large landing ship Azov entered the Israeli port of Haifa on Wednesday, marking the first time a Russian warship calls at an Israeli port.

Azov will stay in Haifa until Friday to resupply and allow the crew to rest, a spokesman for the Russian Navy said.

City residents will also be allowed on board for a guided tour and treated to performances by the Black Sea Fleet orchestra reinforced by marines.

Azov is part of Russia’s task force in the Mediterranean, which is due to perform exercises off the coast of war-torn Syria, Captain Alexei Komarov, who heads the landing ship unit of the Black Sea Fleet, told journalists in Haifa.

He did not give a date for the exercises, but said the task force is prepared to evacuate Russian citizens from Syria, though no such order was given so far.

Russia currently has six ships in the Mediterranean, including the Azov, which made frequent trips to the region before, calling at the Russian resupply base in the Syrian city of Tartus.

Another six ships of the Pacific Fleet are on the way to the Mediterranean and expected to join the task force later this month.

Various expert estimates put the Russian diaspora in Syria at anywhere between 5,000 and 100,000, the majority of them women who married into Syrian families. Russia evacuated 77 of its citizens by bus in January.