Conflicting casualty claims as fighting continues in northern Donetsk, Lugansk

By Chris Covert

Fighting continued sporadically in northern Donetsk and Lugansk Sunday and Monday as Russian backed rebels claim casualties for the Ukrainian forces rose to more than 100 dead, according to Ukrainian and Russian language news accounts.

The Ukrainian ministry of defense said in press sessions on Monday that the death toll for their side in the battles which began Sunday afternoon, totaled 15 dead and 30 wounded, according to a news account in lb.ua

In the first session Ukrainian military officials claimed a total of five dead while saying that rebels lost ten and 20 wounded in the fighting on Sunday.

Ukrainian military journalist Andrey Butusov was quoted in the lb.ua article as saying that Ukrainian top officials were deliberately low balling casualty figures.

Butusov said the actual number was six dead, albeit a small difference.

In a second press briefing the same day, Ukrainian military officials said in their daily press briefing that another five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the fighting around Debaltsevo.

But former Ukrainian intelligence operative retired Ukrainian GRU Colonel Igor Bezler was quoted in Russkaya Vesna as saying the total dead for the fighting over two days was more than 100 with 400 wounded.  Bezler said in a social media posting that a military cordon had been placed around Artemovsk (recently renamed Bakhmut by the Ukrainians) to prevent locals from finding out how bad the losses were for Ukrainian forces.  He also said that military hospitals were filled with casualties from the fighting.

Both sides claim the other side launched the attacks.  Initial reports from yesterday from both Ukrainian and rebel media seem to confirm that the Ukrainians launched the attack, which was met with stiff resistance from dug in rebel troops.

Now, Ukrainians are saying that it was the rebel who struck first.

Ukrainian ministry of defense spokesman Colonel Andrei Lysenko was quoted in lb.ua saying that rebel artillery preparation began Sunday morning and was followed on with a ground attack that began at around 1330 hrs.

While the seeming objective of rebel forces was not clear in the press briefing, it was clear the Ukrainian were charging the rebel with trying to attack through the Svetodarsk arc, specifically the area between two lakes on either side of the main road that runs to Artemovsk.

That battle lasted 3.5 hours until 1700 hrs, when rebel reinforcements arrived to bolster their forces and a second push was initiated.  A third reinforcement arrived, according to Lysenko, that was two to five times the size of the second reinforcement.

The rebel attacks failed.  Ukrainian forces, according to Lysenko did not attempt a counterattack, despite massive rebel artillery fire.

An account by an unidentified Ukrainian soldier appearing in Censor.net.ua said that Ukrainian did counterattack in the area, but waited until rebel forces were very close before their forces finally arrived for their attack.

On the evening of December 19th, Ukrainian commanders, presumably near Kalinovka on the easternmost extent of the Svetodarsk arc, asked for a truce in order they may recover their dead and wounded, according to Lugansk military spokesman Major Andrei Marochko.  Marochko noted that a similar truce was requested on December 18th, which was apparently granted, but instead the Ukrainian used the respite to regroup for further fighting.

According to separate rebel media reports, the fighting has subsided, but artillery fires continue.

A separate news account which appeared on tsargrad.tv website said that fighting continued near Kalinovka on Monday.  According to Russkaya Vesna, rebel forces in Lugansk launched a counterattack against Ukrainian troops, but this writer could find no reference to a counterattack in any of Lugansk official web pages.

Ukrainian forces launch attack in northern Donetsk, Lugansk

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Between six and ten Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded Sunday afternoon in an attack in northern Donetsk and Lugansk, according to Russian and Ukrainian language news sources.

According to a report by novorosinform.org, elements of the Ukrainian 54th Rifle Brigade attacked at around 1300 hrs at three points south of the Svetodarsk arc.  Among the towns attacked were Logvinovka and Kalinovka

Kalinovka is northeast of Debaltstevo about six kilometers.  Logvinovka sits astride the only major road between Debaltsevo and the regional city of Bakhmut, formerly known as Artemovsk, which serves as a logistical and command hub for Ukrainian fores in the region.

The losses by the Ukrainians were said to be 10 dead, according to Russian accounts.  Those casualties and the approximate location of the fighting was confirmed in the Censor.net.ua, by way of a volunteer reporting from his Facebook page, Yuri Mysyagin.

In that report, Mysyagin said six were killed.

According to the Russian account, the Ukrainian also lost two BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles in the exchange.

Serial reports on the fighting through the official Lugansk government website originally claimed 30 Ukrainian troops were killed, but later revised those casualty tolls.  A subsequent report said that the Ukrainian commanders who ordered the attacks were drunk.

According to the Russian accounts, fighting continues in the area.

The weather in southern Ukraine has been bitterly cold.  Lows expected for Monday are about 30 degrees F.

Late reports by rebel media suggested that Ukrainian forces launched an offensive across a relatively wide front of 16 kilometers, hitting rebel strongpoints in Kalinovka to the east, Lozovoye to the west and Logvinovka in the center.

Rebel media say that Debaltsevo is the prize, because rebel forces in both Donetsk and Lugansk regard it as a critical road/rail hub.  Debaltsevo was captured by rebel forces in late winter of 2014-2015 after a bloody campaign that cost Ukrainian forces more than 3,500 troops.

The rebel side have never released casualty numbers for their side in the Debaltsevo campaign but reports at the time suggested they were very heavy as well.

Ukrainian forces attempted a similar attack early last summer with much the same results. According to the report, Ukrainian forces, including the Ukrainian 54th and 58th Separate Rifle Brigades, struck rebel lines with a reinforced rifle company against dug in rebel positions at Logvinovka, Lozovoye and Kalinovka.

At the time it was thought by rebel military journalists that Logvinovka could be used to site artillery observers who could then peer into Debaltsevo.

You can read about last summer's fighting in the area here.