Another ceasefire in Donbass, announced on September 1, did not last even a few days. At the beginning of this week, according to the DPR Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian side shelled the territory of the Republic about fifty times a day. By the middle of the week, Kiev doubled the number of attacks, using not only grenade launchers, mortars and small arms, but also infantry fighting vehicles and 122mm artillery.
The shelling of the DPR localities were mainly carried out from the positions of the nationalist battalions. Moreover, the DPR intelligence reported that, in the west of Donetsk, one of these battalions had organized a paid "shooting range" in which "tourists" can open fire on the outskirts of the DPR capital from different types of weapons.
As a result of the shelling, there were no casualties among the civilian population, but the DPR army lost two soldiers killed and one seriously injured.
The shelling caused damage to five residential houses in one of the districts of Donetsk. In addition, according to information from the local authorities, the Ukrainian side opened fire from 122mm artillery at a mine located in the city, with a few shells landing on its territory.
In the LPR, at the beginning of the ceasefire, the situation was calmer, but by mid-week, the authorities of the Republic also noted a tendency to the aggravation of the situation on the front. Kiev continued delivering to the Lugansk segment of the contact line heavy weapons and equipment. According to the LPR intelligence, for the past four days, 12 MLRS "Grad", 28 tanks, 2 trucks "Ural" with the personnel and 9 tanker trucks arrived at the Ukrainian positions.
Moreover, in the zone of responsibility of the LPR, the Ukrainian side started to carry out flights of jet aircraft. In the beginning of the week, the OSCE observers recorded a flight of a jet plane over the Ukrainian positions.
In addition, according to documents obtained by the LPR intelligence, the ATO command issued an order to ban firing at air targets, due to testing UAVs, including assault ones. Last week, the «Ukroboronprom" (Ukrainian Defense Industry) published a catalog of weapons used in the Ukrainian army, with photos and specifications of shock drones given.
In the zone of responsibility of the DPR, Kiev delivered to the front line mainly ammunition and the personnel. However, two days ago, the DPR intelligence reported the arrival at the Ukrainian positions of eight 152mm motorized artillery systems "Akatsia" and four 203mm motorized cannons "Peon".
In addition, along the entire front line, the Ukrainian side continued to strengthen old firing positions and equip new ones, including in the buffer zone.
Despite the relative calm on the front, in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there is a growing number of non-combat losses caused by the massive drunkenness and failure to comply with safety regulations while handling weapons.
In the Lugansk segment of the front, according to the LPR People's Militia, two days ago a Ukrainian soldiers was blown up hitting a Ukrainian stretch mine.
In the Donetsk segment of the front, in a week since the beginning of the ceasefire, 15 units of Ukrainian military equipment were put out of function.
According to the Ukrainian organization «Sisters of Mercy», only one of the Kharkov hospitals received 34 Ukrainian wounded soldiers for the past four days.
Another cause of non-combat losses in the Ukrainian army is constant conflicts between the military and radicals of the nationalist battalions. To curb such conflicts, in Kiev-controlled town Stanitsa Luganskaya, near the LPR capital, arrived, according to local residents, a unit of the Ukrainian special forces battalion.
Kiev does not use the ceasefire only to strengthen its groups on the front line, but also to activate the sabotage and intelligence activities on the territory of the Republics.
A few days ago, the President of Ukraine Poroshenko officially confirmed Kiev’s waging a subversive war against the People's Republics. He said that, since the beginning of the ATO in 2014, in Donbas the had been killed 162 and wounded 632 military of the intelligence units, operating behind the contact line, ie, on the territory of the Republics.
Two days ago, already during the ceasefire period, the DPR intelligence reported that another Ukrainian subversive group had hit a mine near the contact line to the west of Donetsk. The explosion killed the group commander, two other soldiers were wounded.
The apparent unwillingness of Kiev to observe the cease-fire forced the DPR military authorities to make a statement yesterday that the Army of the Republics reserved the right to make the toughest response to any provocation from the Ukrainian side.
In addition, taking advantage of the relative lull on the front, the Republican army units are holding regular exercises to maintain their combat readiness. In particular, the other day, in the DPR, took place a competition of tank crews.
Kiev does not either limit itself to the delivery of the army equipment and personnel to the frontline. Last week, Ukraine announced large-scale gathering of reservists, in which it is planned to involve about 8,000 people.
According to the documents obtained by the intelligence of the Republics, at this gathering the military authorities of Ukraine are planning to re-mobilize by force 1.500 reservists, who have already served in the ATO area, in order to re-staff six brigades of the Ukrainian army. Locals of the Kiev-controlled frontline localities reported having already seen such reservists sent to the ATO area by deceit.
At the same time, Kiev is doing everything possible to disrupt the negotiations of the Contact Group to resolve the conflict in Donbass, which are now taking place in Minsk.
Two days ago, the head of the OSCE Special Representative at the Minsk negotiations, Saydik Martin reported that the Contact group had been unable to reach an agreement on the separation of the armed forces in Donbass.
On the same day, the LPR authorized representative at the negotiations, Vladislav Deynego reported that the Ukrainian side was attempting to disrupt the meeting of the economic subgroup.
Moreover, yesterday Ukraine announced that Donbass has a 24 billion UAH debt for electricity supply. At the same time, it was in the summer of 2014 that Ukraine ceased to pay pensions, salaries and social benefits to the residents of the Republic, and in the summer of 2016, such payments were denied to refugees from Donbass, who had moved to the Ukrainian territory. According to the official data of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, over 1 million pensioners stay on the territory of the DNR and LPR and, nevertheless, in the budget of Ukraine for 2016 there is no article for the payment of arrears of their pensions.
Yesterday, on the site of the US Defense Ministry, it was reported that the former commander of the Central Command of the US Army John Abizaid had been appointed an adviser of the Defense Minister of Ukraine.
The press-service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced the imminent arrival of yet another advisor of strategic level, General Nick Parker, the former commander of the Land Forces of the UK Armed Forces.
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