After another failed attempt to attack in the Avdeevka area, north of Donetsk, in late January 2017, Kiev have finally passed to terrorist methods of warfare.
On February 3rd, the Ukrainian military shelled with MLRS «Grad» the Ukraine-controlled locality of Sartana in the south of the Donetsk region, immediately blaming the DPR for it. At the same time, the locals in an interview to Ukrainian journalists, who arrived in the locality to make a report about «another crime of the separatists», without a shadow of doubt reported that the «Grad» missiles had been coming to them from the Ukrainian side.
On February 5, in Lugansk, there was undermined, with a controlled landmine, the car of the head of the LPR People's Militia, Oleg Anaschenko.
On the same day, after the agreement with the Ukrainian side on a ceasefire, in order to repair damaged power lines in the area of the Donetsk filtration plant which supplies drinking water to both Donetsk and Kiev-controlled towns, a Ukrainian sniper opened fire on the repair crew. As a result, one of the soldiers of the DPR army, ensuring the safety of the repair crew, was killed, and the repair work had to be urgently stopped.
In addition, on February 5, in the north of the DPR, on the Kiev-controlled territory, Ukrainian nationalists blew up a power line pylon, resulting in Gorlovka, the largest city in the north of the DPR, totally de-energized.
On February 6, the OSCE mission confirmed theft of the Ukrainian bombardment of a residential quarter of Donetsk with 220mm MLRS «Uragan».
On February 7, the DPR intelligence received information from a source in the ATO headquarters that the nationalist regiment «Azov» had been ordered to shell Mariupol, the largest city in the south of Donbass, with MLRS «Grad». The day before, residents of Mariupol had recorded a huge convoy of Ukrainian military equipment entering the city.
On February 8, in Donetsk, in his office, was killed, in a jet flame thrower «Shmel», the commander of the battalion «Somalia» of the DPR army, Mikhail Tolstykh, known as «Givi».
According to the military authorities of the DPR, along the front line Kiev installed loudspeakers through which the Ukrainian side appealed to residents of the frontline localities with threats of total cleansing unwanted population, after the seizure of Donbass, and a complete ban on the use of the Russian language. At the same time, 10-15 minutes after such appeals, the Ukrainian side starts shelling localities on both the territory of the DPR and that controlled by Kiev.
The DPR intelligence reported that the Ukrainian side was mining the Avdeevka Coke Chemical Plant, the undermining of which would cause in Donbass an ecological catastrophe comparable in its effects with the use of chemical weapons.
According to the LPR intelligence, in Schastye, located north of Lugansk, the Ukrainian military also had mined the local CHP supplying with electricity both the capital of the Republic and surrounding villages, and a significant part of the Kiev-controlled Lugansk region.
In total, over the past week, the Ukrainian military opened fire on the territory of the DPR over 5,500 times, and almost half of the attacks were carried out with heavy artillery, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and heavy mortars.
At the same time, in spite of another «regime of silence» set by agreement of both parties on February 4, the Ukrainian military continue to openly record their attacks and post them in social networks.
Under fire from the Ukrainian side came 28 localities of the DPR, in which 12 residential houses were destroyed and damaged. In some of them the locals are on the brink of survival - without gas, water, light and under daily bombardments - with children still living there.
Moreover, Kiev continues to deliver large forces to the contact line in the DPR, exposing at the Crimea and Lugansk directions.
Huge convoys of Ukrainian armored vehicles, infantry and Kamaz trucks with ammunition were also reported by residents of Kiev-controlled Avdeevka. In addition, on February 8, it was stated that the Ukrainian journalists were barred from entering this locality.
According to the DPR intelligence data, in the area of Avdeevka, Kiev delivered two brigades, 8 MLRS «Grad», 6 MLRS «Uragan» and ammunition for them. In the same area, are an airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was alerted to the highest level of readiness.
The LPR intelligence also reported a convoy of Ukrainian equipment, consisting of approximately 100 pieces of tanks, multiple rocket launcher systems, motorized artillery systems, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and trucks with the personnel and ammunition, moving from the Kharkov region towards Donetsk.
In addition, on February 8, the LPR military authorities reported the arrival at the Lugansk section of the front, of Ukrainian experts on pontoon crossings, with equipment for which delivered the day before.
According to military experts, the configuration of the Ukrainian troops on the Donetsk section of the front is of an offensive nature.
In total, near the contact line, Kiev has amassed almost 90-thousand grouping of forces, which is divided into four nearly equal in size parts: the separate tactical group (STG) «Lugansk», the STG «Donetsk», the STG «Mariupol» and the operational reserve.
Each group includes about 16-17 thousands of the personnel, 80-100 tanks, about 500 infantry fighting vehicles, about 260 artillery systems and mortars, about 40 MLRS, about 300 anti-tank systems and about 400 air-defense systems.
Experts believe that the most likely location of Kiev’s strike is the north of Donetsk, as in the STG «Donetsk» sector Kiev has placed two of the three existing 152mm artillery brigades, three backup airmobile brigades, a tank battalion task force, as well as two tank brigades on the sector boundaries.
The constant increase in attacks from the Ukrainian side, including with large-caliber artillery, is also confirmed by the DPR army soldiers located in this sector of the front.
In the south, Mariupol section of the front, according to the DPR army soldiers on position, Kiev is also regrouping the troops and amassing a striking force.
Kiev is ready to start a new round of war in Donbass in spite of the support of the Republics by people both in the world, and in Ukraine.
Last week, rallies in support of the people of Donbass were held in Spain, Italy and Greece.
The Euronews TV channel showed a report about parting with «Givi" in Donetsk, in which German journalists called Ukrainian nationalists "fascists".
During a poll on Ukrainian television, the question ‘Are you ready to see representatives of Donbass in the Ukrainian parliament?’ was answered with «Yes» by 51% of viewers.
Nevertheless, an adviser to the President of Ukraine on the «occupied territories» said that the Minsk Agreements had been for Ukraine ‘rather the survival tactics needed to regroup’.
The Deputy Minister «on the temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons» of Ukraine stated that ‘the Minsk Agreements can be rewritten, as well as other platforms and formats of negotiations with Russia should be found’.
An Verkhovnaya Rada MP, close to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, admitted that the battalions formed under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior, had been ‘punitive’ and had been sent to Donbass to pacify the population, and also announced the host of the poll of Ukrainian citizens on the presence of Donbass representatives in the Ukrainian parliament, an ‘agent of the Kremlin’.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced that the Ukrainian authorities were constantly discussing the imposition of martial law which, in case of deterioration of the situation in Donbass, would be introduced very fast.
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