Yesterday, during the day and night, the Ukrainian punishers carried out fierce fire on the positions of the LPR People’s Militia units in the area of the locality of Kalinovka. 

The Ukrainian «warriors» of the 54th brigades under command of Gorbatyuk, due to a total lack of control on the part of the commanders at all levels and the excessive use of alcoholic beverages and psychotropic substances the day before, several times unsuccessfully tried, under cover of artillery and mortar fire, to attack our positions near the locality of Kalinovka.

Through persistence and dedication of the LPR People’s Militia military, loyal to the ideas and the military oath to protect the borders and territorial integrity of our young Republic, we managed to stop the advance of the enemy, and then , by decisive counterattacks, to throw the enemy back on their initial positions. 

In the course of their outburst, the Ukrainian side has suffered significant losses. The Ukrainian military left at the scene three infantry fighting vehicles, over ten men killed and about thirty wounded.

Their motives still remain unclear. Why, on the eve of the trilateral meeting of the Contact group in Minsk on the settlement of the conflict in Donbass, do the Ukrainian military need a large-scale attack, provoking themselves? 

It defies both logic and common sense why Ukrainian military arrange the this massacre. 

What did they pursue? For what ideas did the Ukrainian soldiers, who are now dead at the scene, go into battle? We believe that it is the fault of the «ATO» command that left everything in the «ATO» area to chance, thus leaving, on the eve of New Year and Christmas holidays, Ukrainian families without sons, husbands and breadwinners!

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This attack is another confirmation of the fact that the Kiev junta does not want to abide by the agreements reached in Minsk and simply spits in the face of the world community, brutally breaking all the conventions and rules of the international law. 

We hope that representatives of the JCCC and the OSCE mission will give a robust assessment of what happened, and that during the next meeting of the Contact group in Minsk, there will be given an objective assessment of the incident and taken appropriate actions against the incompetent political authorities of Ukraine.

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We once again appeal to the international community and declare that we, as before, are ready and fully open for a peaceful dialogue and cooperation, we stand for ensuring the peace on our land, and against shedding human blood.