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.

Artillery attacks continue in Donetsk, Lugansk

by Chris Covert exclusively for SouthFront

Ukrainian military units fired more than 500 artillery rounds at separatists forces in Donetsk on Monday, according to Russian language news accounts.

Ukrainian media says that rebel forces attacked a number of locations on Donetsk, totaling including small arms attacks, 47.

Both sides accuse the other of preparing for an offensive.

According to data supplied by the Donetsk ministry of defense, Ukrainian forces fired a total of 117  each 152mm and 122mm artillery shells, and 401 each 120mm and 82mm mortar shells onto rebel positions.

Locations along the line of contact struck by Ukrainian artillery include Spartak, the Petrovsky district of Donetsk city and near Gorlovka.

In the south, Ukrainian artillery hit Dokuchaevsk,  Kominternovo and Sahanka.

According to an news report posted in lb.ua, rebel forces fired artillery and mortars at Ukrainian positions in southern Donetsk at Shirokino, which was hit with rebel 116 each 122mm artillery rounds. Another 170 each 82mm and 120mm mortar rounds also were fired on Ukrainian positions at  Shirokino.  A Ukrainian marine rifle company has occupied Shirokino since the late spring of 2015, when rebel forces as part of a ceasefire deal, abandoned the town.

Lugansk fighting

According to the same lb.ua article, rebel artillery continued to hit Ukrainian positions on the line of contact.  The news report did not specify where rebel artillery struck.

Ukrainian artillery struck a residential building and a churchyard in Stakhanov on Monday, according to an official Lugansk news release.

The overnight artillery attack which started at 0330 hrs did not cause casualties. A total of five residential buildings were damaged.  A repair shop was damaged as well, as was property on a church cemetery.

Stakhanov was last struck by Ukrainian artillery August 2nd.  Three unidentified individuals were wounded in that attack.

Plotnitsky attack Aftermath

The Lugansk Prosecutor General, Aleksandr Aleksandrov said on Monday that two criminal cases have been filed in the attack on Lugansk president Igor Plotnitsky, according to an official Lugansk government news release.  The news release did not name either of the two suspects, only that they are wanted for the attack.

Plotnitsky was seriously wounded last Saturday morning when a roadside bomb detonated as his transport convoy passed by.  Despite the seriousness of his injuries, Plotnitsky is expected to survive his wounds.

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

Bomb attack sends Plotnitsky to the hospital

Foto via korrespondent.net

by Chris Covert exclusively for SouthFront

Igor Plotnitsky, president of the Luganks People's Republic was wounded in a bombing attack on Saturday morning, according to Russian language news accounts.

Plotnitsky is reported in serious condition, but he is expected to survive the attack.

According to a news account on korespondent.net, the attack took place at 0750 hrs  in Lugansk city at the intersection of Karpinski and Vatutin when the Toyota SUV he was riding in passed a roadside directional bomb packed with about 15 kilograms of explosives.

Though speculation as to the culprits has been muted in Lugansk official media, Ukrainian officials have denied involvement in the attack,  themselves speculating that the attack may be part of a larger power struggle within Lugansk.

Adviser to Ukrainian president Igor Poroshenko, Alexander Motuzyanik said in a separate korrespondent,net report that Lugansk officials have been involved in an internal power struggle for "cash" and resources.  Other news reports say that recent statements by Plotnitsky regarding how his forces would respect the truce regardless of what happens in Donetsk may have deepened a rift between the two republics.

Motuzyanik also pointed to past attacks on commanders of military formations who have been killed through unknown circumstances.  The best known, Alexei Mozgovoy, commander of the Ghost Brigade in Alchevsk was killed almost a year ago in a bomb and small arms attack.  The involvement of Plotnitsky and his government was vehemently denied by both Lugansk and Donetsk officials at the time.  Some of Mozgovoy's aids at the time opened fingered Plotnitsky in that attack.

The death of Mozgovoy, one in a line of several commanders who were killed in roadside attacks, did not set well with other formation commanders in Lugansk.

A number of other rebel formation commanders in both Donetsk and Lugansk have seen a violent end since the winter of 2015, many of them Cossacks, who had been angered by Lugansk's insistence on dealing with Ukrainian authorities by selling products for cash.  The most famous of these, Colonel Pavel Dremov was killed in December, 2015, seven months after he made severe public criticisms of military commanders in the Debaltsevo defensive operation in February, 2015.  Those remarks came rapidly on the heels of Dremov being awarded the rank of colonel and an honorific for his regiment.

Like Dremov, Mozgovoy has severely criticized the leadership of both Donetsk and Lugansk for the defensive operation in Debaltsevo.

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

20 Ukrainian casualties in friendly fire incident in Donetsk

by Chris Covert exclusively for SouthFront

A total of 20 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded in a friendly artillery fire incident in Donetsk on Thursday, according to Russian language news reports.

According to a news release posted on the website of the Donetsk ministry of defense, the casualties took place in Avdievka when an artillery unit of the 12th Battalion of Ukrainian 26th Separate Artillery Brigade struck positions of the Ukrainian 58th Separate Mechanized Rifle Brigade.  The reason for the incident was improper adjustment of an artillery fire.

Avdievka including the industrial zone to the west, has been a focus of Ukrainian forces since the strong, where Ukrainian forces moved into a gray zone near Yasinovataya, effectively cutting off civilian traffic from Gorlovka, though Gorlovka remains in the Russian backed Donetsk rebels' hands.

Since then artillery fire into Yasinovataya and the checkpoint that separates Donetsk city from Gorlovka has been under regular artillery fire.  Rebels claim that most of the artillery that hits those areas come from artillery emplaced at Avdievka.  Rebel forces routinely fire counterbattery attacks into Avdievka in an effort to destroy Ukrainian artillery units.

On Tuesday, according to a news account in lb.ua, rebel artillery units struck several locations along the line of contact, for a total of 38 incidents.

The report said that between 1100 hrs and 200 hrs, rebel artillery hit Ukrainian positions at Avidevka, Optynoye and Zaitsevo for a total of 85 shells.  Among the weapons used were 120mm and 82mm mortars.

Over the same period, rebel reports say that Ukrainian fired artillery on several locations in Donetsk using a total of 334 artillery and mortar rounds.  Locations hit include Vasilevka, Spartak, Yasinovataya, Zaytsevo, Gorlovka, the Donetsk airport and near the Volvo Center of western Donetsk city.  The report said that a total of 154 rounds of 152mm and 122mm artillery were used by the Ukrainians and 180 rounds of 120mm and 82mm mortars.

Fighting in Lugansk

An Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) report on Wednesday confirmed that Ukrainian artillery originating from Popasnaya struck rebel positions in Stakhanov on Tuesday, according to a news release on the Lugansk government website.

The incident took place at around 0140 hrs and involved  Ukrainian 152mm artillery.  A total of two unidentified non combatants were wounded in the incident.  A total of six rounds were fired, two of which hit near residential buildings.

A separate Lugansk government news release posted the following day said Ukrainian forces fired a total of 67 each 120mm and 82mm mortar rounds fell on rebel positions in the northwest area of the line of contact.

Ukrainian sources do not indicate any rebel activity in Lugansk for the same period of time.

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

Massive Ukrainian artillery attack hits in Donetsk overnight

by Chris Covert exclusively for SouthFront

More than 700 artillery shots were fired by Ukrainian artillery on Donetsk rebel positions in Donetsk Saturday night, among the most intense bombardments of the war, according to Russian language news accounts.

According to a new release posted on the website of the Donetsk ministry of defense, Ukrainian artillery fired included 152mm and 122mm artillery, and 120mm and 82mm mortars, for a total of 750 shots.  The intensity of the artillery firing from the Ukrainians has not been seen since before the autumn of 2015.  The total number of shells that fell on rebel positions was almost ten times the number from the previous night, 80.

Locations hit in Donetsk included Zaitsevo, Yasinovataya, Spartak, Staromykhailivka, the Kuybyshevsky district of Donetsk city and the Donetsk airport.

In the south near Mariupol, locations struck by Ukrainian artillery include Kominternovo and Sahanka.

A separate news release by the Donetsk ministry of defense said that 20 each 122mm artillery shells hit the Kuybyshevsky district of Doentsk city Saturday night.

The Ukrainian ministry of defense, as reported in lb.ua said that rebel artillery struck Ukrainian positions 70 times Friday night in the previous 24 hours.

Rebel artillery hit Ukrainian positions in Avdievka, Peski and Marinka.  In the south, rebel artillery hit Ukrainian positions in Shirokino, Granitnoye and Talakovsk.

Fighting on the ground in Donetsk

Donbas militants attempted several platoon level probes into Ukrainian positions at Marinka Thursday and Saturday nights, according to data supplied by the Ukrainian ministry of defense and reported in an lb.ua news report.

At 2100 hrs Thursday a rebel patrol armed with small arms and RPG rocket launchers probed into Ukrainian positions at Marinka, only to be driven back by Ukrainian counterfire.  The Ukrainian side reported no casualties in the encounter.  The report also said that rebel 82mm fire was reported at Marinka on Thursday evening.

At 1900 hrs on Saturday, two separate rebel patrols attempted to move into Ukrainian positions from two different directions.  The rebel losses amounted to eight dead, but the Ukrainian ministry refused to account for their own losses at all, which likely mean there were some losses.

Probes by both sides at Marinka are starting to become routine, with several taking place in the past week, with high losses reported.

Fighting in Lugansk

Ukrainian army units have fired mortars and small arms on Lugansk rebel positions, mainly focusing on the area around Kalinovo, according to data supplied by the Lugansk government information website.

It is unclear in those news releases just how much of the firing was done by mortars, but it is clear going by the most recent reports, rebel have to be worried about the location of the activity.

Kalinovo was one of the locations back in January, 2015, where rebel forces attempted to shut the lid on the Debaltsevo cauldron to little avail.  That failure forced rebel commanders to adjust their plans to close off  Debaltsevo, when the battle for Logvinova took place.

Saturday night Ukrainian fire hit positions near Kalinovo and Logvinova, including fire from 30mm autocannon, RPG fire and mortars.

Logvinova was attacked earlier this month  by a large Ukrainian combined arms force, attacks which struck a number of locations across a large front.  The attack was much like others before and since, where Ukrainian forces attempt to move their armed units into "gray zones", in order to initiate close quarters fighting, to force rebel forces back even further into their own defensive zones.  To date only the first, at Yasinovataya, has been successful.

A separate Lugansk government news release recounted how Ukrainian units are using their firepower to fight one another in Lugansk.

Artillery units with the Ukrainian Interior Ministry troops Lugansk-1 battalion shelled positions of the Ukrainian 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade.  The report claims that the shelling was intended to be reported as a rebel provocation.

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com 

Losses continue to mount for Ukrainians in Donbas

by Chris Covert exclusively for SouthFront

The Ukrainian Army has lost as many as a dozen soldiers since Saturday, including a friendly fire incident in Lugansk, according to Russian language news report.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ministry of defense says Russian backed rebels attempted to launch three  recon probes in the Marinka area in Donetsk and three probing attacks at Novozvanovki in Lugansk. All attacks were driven back,

According to the Lugansk government website, Lugansk police reported that a Ukrainian artillery fire mission on July 25th  fell on their own troops, killing six and wounding 20.

The news release did not mention where the attack took place. Direct fire battles have been taking place near Stanitsa Luganskaya in Lugansk in recent days. Stanitsa Luganskaya  has been an issue between the two combatants since the end of 2014.

According to the news release, and quoting Lugansk ministry of defense spokesman Andrei Marochko, artillery elements of the Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized Brigade adjusted an artillery fire mission which landed on the 30th Battalion, causing the casualties.

Rebel officials have been saying for more than  a year that friendly fire incidents such as the Stanitsa Luganskaya incident and minor incidents such as accidental firearms discharges account for a large number of Ukrainian casualties, and go unreported by top Ukrainian ministry of defense officials.

The official rebel report in Lugansk says Ukrainian commanders are trying to hide the losses suffered in the friendly fire incident.

Donbas rebel probes

Two rebel probes were detected and driven back in the Marina area of Donetsk on the night of July 25th to July 26th, according to data supplied by the Ukrainian ministry of defense, as reported on lb.ua,

The first attack was detected at 1907 hrs, said to be at platoon strength, but was driven back with small arms and automatic grenade launcher fire.  A second probe attempt at 1920 hrs was not successful as well.  The Ukrainian side said rebels suffered losses but did not describe the nature of the losses.

Last Thursday, as previously reported, one rebel and one Ukrainian foot patrol fought at Marinka with losses for the Ukrainians totaling one dead and one non commissioned officer captured,

A third rebel probe was engaged by Ukrainian troops at Avdievka on Monday evening at around 1720 hrs, according to the same lb.ua report.  Unspecified losses for the rebel side were reported by the Ukrainians.

A fourth rebel probe took place on Saturday morning, but was only reported on Monday in a separate lb.ua news report.

At around 0820 hrs, a rebel patrol was spotted at Novozvanovki in Lugansk, and was fired on by Ukrainian troops.  Two rebel effectives were killed in the exchange, and four were wounded by Ukrainian counterfire.  The rebel unit then withdrew to their own lines.

Subsequently, according to the report, rebel forces fired a number of heavy weapons into Ukrainian positions including 82mm and 120mm mortar fire, which lasted 25 minutes.  Rebel forces expended a total of 80 rounds of artillery shells of both types.  Fire was reported from SPG-9 73mm recoilless rifle, 23mm antiaircraft autocannon and 125mm tank gun fire until 1350 hrs.  The bombardment killed one Ukrainian effective and wounded another two.

A second rebel probe totaling 20 effectives took  place at around 1410 hrs, when the rebel unit came within 50 meters of Ukrainian positions before being fired on.  Rebel forces lost two more dead and five wounded, and the probe was forced back.

Two hours later a second exchange of gunfire took place between the two forces with losses for the Ukrainians totaling one dead and three wounded.  Ukrainian forces claim that radio intercepts indicate rebel losses in the last attack totaled five dead.

Ukrainian Artillery fire in Donetsk

Ukrainian artillery units hit the industrial area near Yasinovataya Sunday night total of 69 122mm and 152mm artillery shells striking rebel positions, according to a news release posted by the Donetsk ministry of defense.

The shelling  at Yasinovataya started at around 2130 hrs and ended at 2330 hrs.

Elsewhere in Donetsk, Ukrainian artillery units fired a total of 295 82mm and 120mm mortar shells at rebel positions, most of it night shelling, according to official rebel media.  Locations around Donetsk city struck by Ukrainian mortars fire include the Donetsk airport areas and at Trudovskoy,

In southern Donetsk, towns hit by Ukrainian artillery fire include Sahanka and Novoazovskiy.

On the evening of Monday, July 25th, Ukrainian artillery once again renewed their attacks at Yasinovataya and at Spartak, starting at 2100 hrs, according to a separate official rebel media report.  This time Ukrainians used 122mm artillery in their attacks, totaling 12 shots.

A residential building at Spartak was struck by Ukrainian artillery and was destroyed by fire.

A total of 184 82mm and 120mm mortar rounds were fired on rebel positions between 2100 hrs on Monday night and 0200 hrs Tuesday morning.   The artillery attacks originated at Avdievka, Opytnoye and Vodyanovo

Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com