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Civil war in Ukraine: News & discussion

https://www.unian.info/war/1897151-ukraine-reports-47-enemy-attacks-1-kia-6-wias-in-last-day.html
Russia’s hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 47 times in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and six as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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Ukrainian OSINT community InformNapalm reports they have identified war criminals from a special forces battalion of the Russian 8th Mountain Motorized Rifle Brigade (the 8th MMRB) who participated in the first wave of the Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.
https://www.unian.info/war/1897309-osint-group-identifies-more-russian-war-criminals-in-donbas.html
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The new InformNapalm investigation is based on the earlier published picture of Russian servicemen from the 8th MMRB, which was later picked up by several media and bloggers.


Now the group has identified another six invaders: two officers and four enlisted contract servicemen who in August – September 2014 fought in the Ukrainian Donbas as part of the so-called Special Forces Battalion of the 8th MMRB.
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https://www.unian.info/war/1899241-...sitions-near-krasnohorivka-1-kias-4-wias.html

Militants attack Ukrainian positions near Krasnohorivka: 1 KIA, 4 WIAs

Russia’s hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions near the town of Krasnohorivka in the Mariupol sector, the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters reported on Facebook.

According to preliminary information, as a result of the shelling of a fortified position of the unit of one of the mechanized brigades, whose personnel are performing combat missions near Krasnohorivka in the Mariupol sector, one soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was killed in action (KIA) and four were wounded in action (WIA).

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https://www.unian.info/war/1899901-...-shelling-in-donbas-militant-tanks-grads.html

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has reported an increase in shelling and the deployment of tanks and Grad MLR systems in the occupied territory of Donbas, according to a daily update.

“The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In Donetsk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations, including about 240 explosions compared with the previous reporting period (110 explosions),” the OSCE SMM said in a report based on information received as of 19:30 local time on April 26, 2017. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations compared with the previousreporting period (one shot), including 125 explosions. The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, in implementation of the Package of Measures, its Addendum, and the Memorandum.

“In non-government-controlled areas, the SMM again saw one tank (T-64) with a front-mounted mine sweeper near “DPR”-controlled Nikishyne (60km north-east of Donetsk) and continued to observe seven multiple-launch rocket systems (BM-21 Grad, 122mm), seven self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), ten towed howitzers (five D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm; and five 2A65 Msta-B, 152mm), and seven tanks (T-72) at an aerodrome in the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city,” the OSCE SMM said. The SMM observed armored combat vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun in the security zone. The SMM saw one armored personnel carrier (APC) (BTR-80) heading north-east on road T1309 near government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk).

The SMM observed armored combat vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun in the security zone. The SMM saw one armored personnel carrier (APC) (BTR-80) heading north-east on road T1309 near government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk).

In non-government-controlled areas the SMM saw: an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23-2) mounted on an undetermined tracked vehicle parked in front of a house at the north-eastern edge of Pikuzy (formerly Kominternove, “DPR”-controlled, 23km north-east of Mariupol) and an APC (BTR-80) 1.7km east of Pikuzy with at least ten armed “DPR” members sitting on top heading south-west.

At the Luhansk aerodrome, the SMM saw 12 APCs (five MTLB and seven BTR–80), seven IFVs (BMP-2), 15 trucks and five vehicles for towing howitzers, all stationary. There were also over 500 armed men wearing military-style clothing.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/418827.html

A Ukrainian serviceman has been killed near Pavlopil, Donetsk region, when a military vehicle hit an unknown explosive device, the Anti-Terrorism Operation headquarters reported.

"According to preliminary information, a serviceman of a unit whose personnel are performing combat tasks in the seaside sector near the town of Pavlopil, died as a result of a military vehicle being blown up by an unknown explosive device," the press center of the ATO headquarters said on his Facebook page on Friday.

Earlier this day, spokesman of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine on ATO issues Andriy Lysenko said three Ukrainian servicemen were injured in the ATO zone in Donbas on Thursday.
 
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https://www.unian.info/war/1900991-...another-five-wounded-in-donbas-on-friday.html
Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another five were wounded in action in Donbas on Friday, April 28, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters.

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"Two servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were killed and five were wounded," it said in an update on Facebook based on information from 00:00 to 18:00 local time on April 28. The total number of attacks mounted by Russia's hybrid military forces on Ukrainian positions in the east of Ukraine on that day was 31 instances.

"Strongholds near the town of Krasnohorivka in the Mariupol sector came under fire from 120mm and 82mm mortars, Zu-23-2 anti-aircraft guns and grenade launchers of various systems. The enemy used guns of infantry fighting vehicles, anti-tank grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms to shell the [Ukrainian] Marines stationed near the villages of Pavlopil and Vodiane. The Marines stationed near the village of Shyrokyne were attacked by infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. Heavy machine guns were used to fire on the defenders of the village of Hnutove," the report said.
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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/418921.html
Two Ukrainian servicemen were killed, six were wounded in the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone on Friday, the Defense Ministry's spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said.

"As a result of active hostilities, two Ukrainian servicemen were killed and six others were wounded," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday.

Lysenko said that in Krasnohorivka one serviceman was killed, and four were injured, with one being in a very serious condition. Another soldier was killed near Pavlopil as a car was blown up on an explosive device. One serviceman was wounded in Zaitseve and one in Verkhniotortetsk in enemy shelling.

The Defense Ministry spokesman also stressed that the situation in the ATO zone had escalated on Friday evening in all areas.

Earlier, the press center of the ATO headquarters reported that on Friday militants fired on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 70 times, as a result of which two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and six were wounded.

http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/418926.html
An explosion occurred near the patrol of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) at the 'LPR' checkpoint, and another patrol has heard a shot from small arms on the territory of the 'LPR'.

The latest report by OSCE SMM posted on Saturday says on April 28, a patrol consisting of six members and two armored vehicles was positioned at an 'LPR'-checkpoint approximately 1.5km south-west of 'LPR'-controlled Molodizhne (63km north-west of Luhansk), speaking with an armed 'LPR' member.

"At 12:17, the patrol members were proceeding to their vehicles to depart the area when the same 'LPR' member began waving his hand at the SMM, indicating that the patrol should depart quickly. At 12:20, from inside their vehicles, the SMM heard an explosion assessed as an airburst about 50-100m north-west," the report reads.

At the same time, the SMM saw a cloud of black smoke rising above the mentioned location; no impact was observed from the distance.

The SMM could not assess the cause of the explosion. The SMM immediately left the area and returned safely to its base in 'LPR'-controlled Kadiyivka (formerly Stakhanov, 50km west of Luhansk).

In addition, on April 28, a separate SMM patrol consisting of five members and two armored vehicles was positioned at an observation post about 50m west of an 'LPR' position located 1 km north-west of 'LPR'-controlled Kruta Hora (16 km north-west of Luhansk). At about 10:35, while all SMM patrol members were outside of their vehicles, the patrol heard a shot of small-arms fire approximately 40-50 m south. The SMM could not determine the type of weapon or the direction in which it was fired. The SMM left the area immediately and returned safely to its base in Luhansk city.

In both cases, the SMM notified the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination and requested it to follow up.

The press center of the ATO headquarters regards such incidents as the continuation of provocations by militants towards the representatives of the OSCE SMM.

At the same time, the headquarters said that at the time indicated, the Ukrainian side observed the ceasefire.
 
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https://www.unian.info/war/1902604-ukraine-reports-54-enemy-attacks-1-kia-7-wias-in-last-day.html
01 May 2017

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 54 times in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and seven as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

On May 2, militants shelled the Ukrainian army positions in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone, as a result of which one Ukrainian soldier was killed and seven were wounded, the press center of the ATO headquarters reported.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1903624-...re-set-up-by-occupiers-in-luhansk-region.html
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One civilian killed and another wounded in an explosion due to triggering a trip-wire actuating device planted by the Russian-backed militants, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry posted on Facebook.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/419429.html

Three Ukrainian servicemen have been killed near the Svitlodarsk arc in Donbas area, saving a wounded sworn brother, the ATO headquarters has reported.

"Three of our guys, rescuing their wounded sworn brother, heroically died in the Svitlodarsk arc area. One of them who was wounded detonated a hand grenade in order not to be taken prisoner and kill the enemy. He died on the spot," the press center of the ATO headquarters said on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

It is reported that the bodies of servicemen have been found, but they could not be evacuated because of the strong fire resistance of the enemy.
 
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04 May 2015
https://www.unian.info/war/1906324-ukraine-reports-9-wias-amid-52-enemy-attacks-in-last-day.html

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 52 times in the past 24 hours with nine Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/419858.html
A local resident, born in 1960, has been severely wounded as a result of the shelling of the town of Krasnohorivka of the Maryinsky district of Donetsk region by illegal armed formations, head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Donetsk region Viacheslav Abroskin has said.

According to him, the shelling took place on Friday afternoon. Currently, the victim is hospitalized.

According to him, the shelling took place on Friday afternoon.

"Militants have just shelled the area of the town's hospital; several windows of the building were broken. A nonresidential private house on Hrushevsky Street suffered damages," Abroskin wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.
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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/419885.html
A total of 58 attacks on Ukrainian positions in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in Donbas over the past 24 hours, the press center of the ATO headquarters reported.

"Ten servicemen of Ukraine's armed forces have been wounded," the ATO headquarters said on its Facebook account.

In the Luhansk sector, militants used 152mm artillery weapons, 82mm mortars, infantry fighting vehicle weapons, grenade launchers and large-caliber machineguns against Ukrainian military positions near Krymske, the headquarters said. Militants fired 122mm artillery systems and 120mm mortars at Ukrainian positions in Popasna and used 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of different systems and large-caliber machineguns in Novozvanivka.

In the Donetsk sector, militants used 120mm and 82mm mortars, infantry fighting vehicle weapons, ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft systems and large-caliber machineguns against Ukrainian positions near Luhanske, the headquarters said. They fired 82mm mortars, infantry fighting vehicle weapons and grenade launchers of different systems at Ukrainian military positions near Zaitseve and Verkhniotoretske and used 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and large-caliber machineguns against Ukrainian positions near Avdiyivka and the Butivka mine.

In the Mariupol sector, militants forces used 120mm and 82mm mortars, infantry fighting vehicle weapons, grenade launchers of different systems and large-caliber machineguns against Ukrainian positions near Pavlopil. They fired 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, large-caliber machineguns and small arms at Ukrainian positions near Hnutove and Krasnohorivka and used 82mm mortars, infantry fighting vehicle weapons, grenade launchers of different systems and small arms against Ukrainian positions near Maryinka.

The Ukrainian military fired automatic grenade launchers, large-caliber machineguns and small arms in response to shelling near Lobacheve, the headquarters said.

http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/419911.html
Ukraine's representative in the Trilateral Contact Group, second president Leonid Kuchma believes that the establishment of peace in Donbas largely depends on the U.S. and President Donald Trump.

"In my opinion, it depends mostly on the position of the United States, on U.S. President Donald Trump. The U.S. today is the key country that has a significant influence on Russia's position. No one dares to make fun of America… Therefore, we also hope that given the recent statements by Trump and his team, they should pay more attention to the problem that exists in Ukraine. Let's wait and see," Kuchma told reporters in Nizhyn on Friday answering the question on when peace may be established in Ukraine.

In his opinion, the European Union and the U.S. can make Russia contribute to a peaceful resolution to this conflict, because Ukraine alone cannot do this.

Speaking about the possibility of changing the 'Normandy format,' Kuchma said: "We need to wait for the end of the elections in France. It is necessary that the European Union... should have a clear understandable position on the war in Ukraine. Nothing will change from adding anybody to this format."

"In order to expand it, it is necessary to have the consent of all the participants… And there will be always someone against it. So we should stop talking about changing formats, etc., we should work within this format," he added.

At the same time, Ukraine's representative in the trilateral contact group believes that after the elections, France will take a tougher stand.

Kuchma believes that France and Germany should press on Russia, so that the country should work in the 'Minsk format.'


He also said that the resolution of the situation in Donbas depends only on one person - on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
 
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https://www.unian.info/war/1910323-ato-hq-reports-5-wias-in-donbas-over-past-24-hours.html

Russian-occupation troops continue their armed provocations against the Ukrainian government forces as 63 shellings of Ukraine’s positions were recorded in the last day, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation Staff wrote on Facebook.

Over the past day, five ATO troops were wounded in action, according to the report. In the Prymorske direction, the enemy shelled Ukrainian strong points near Pavlopil from 120mm mortars, anti-tank grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns.
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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/419971.html
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sent 8.6 tonnes of medical humanitarian aid to the Donbas territory uncontrolled by Kyiv, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a report.

"One truck from the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross traveled through the Novotroitske checkpoint to the uncontrolled territory, transporting medical goods with a total weight of 8.6 tonnes for the residents of Donetsk region," the service said.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/419981.html
Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. mission to the OSCE Kate Marie Byrnes believes Russia opposes the efforts to cease hostilities in Donbas, does not condemn the intimidation of OSCE missions and continues to violate the rights of the opposition in Crimea, according to the Voice of America.

Byrnes stressed strict adherence to the ceasefire and the withdrawal of forces is the main prerequisite for the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

She expressed regret that Russia did not support part of the OSCE statement in which attempts to intimidate OSCE observers are condemned. She also noted the need to provide the missions with access throughout Ukraine without restrictions, remarks or delays.

Russia continues to violate the rights of those who oppose the illegal annexation of Crimea, the statement said.

Russian aggression against Ukraine undermines the foundations on which Europe's security and stability are based and directly contradicts the idea of the integrated, free and peaceful Europe. The United States strongly supports the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders, the U.S. official said.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/419993.html
Five Ukrainian servicemen had been injured in the anti-terrorist operation zone in Donbas over the past 24 hours, there are no killed, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman for ATO issues Andriy Lysenko has stated.

"Fortunately, none of Ukrainian military men had been killed in the ATO zone over the past 24 hours, while five soldiers had been wounded," he said.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1911921-ukraine-reports-65-enemy-attacks-in-donbas-in-last-day.html
Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 65 times in the past 24 hours, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1912816-donbas-militants-attack-ukraine-30-times-on-may-8-ato-hq.html

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 30 times on May 8 with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and five as wounded in action (WIA), the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters reports.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1913256-...-soldier-killed-nine-wounded-in-past-day.html

Ukraine's Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters has reported escalation in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, as Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian troops 50 times in the past day, resulting in one killed in action and nine wounded in action.
 
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10 May 2017
https://www.unian.info/war/1914351-ukraine-reports-70-enemy-attacks-1-kia-2-wias-in-last-day.html
Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 70 times in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and two as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1915026-ukraine-reports-1-kia-4-wias-in-donbas-in-last-day.html
One Ukrainian soldier was killed in action and another four were wounded in action in the zone of the Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine in the last 24 hours, speaker for the ATO at Ukraine's Defense Ministry Andriy Lysenko told a briefing, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

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UKRAINEBATTLEFIELDTEXT


Television journalist Julia Kirienko holds up her smartphone on February 22, 2017 to show a text message reading “Ukrainian soldiers, they’ll find your bodies when the snow melts”, in Kiev. | Photo Credit: AP

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...-tech-front/article18425757.ece?homepage=true

Television journalist Julia Kirienko was sheltering with Ukrainian soldiers and medics 3 km from the front when their cellphones began buzzing over the noise of the shelling. Everyone got the same text message at the same time.

“Ukrainian soldiers,” it warned, “they’ll find your bodies when the snow melts.”

Text messages like the one Ms. Kirienko received have been sent periodically to Ukrainian forces fighting pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. The threats and disinformation represent a new form of information warfare, the 21st-century equivalent of dropping leaflets on the battlefield.


“This is pinpoint propaganda,” said Nancy Snow, a professor of public diplomacy at the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.

The Associated Press has found that the messages are almost certainly being sent through cell site simulators, surveillance tools long used by U.S. law enforcement to track suspects’ cellphones. Photos, video, leaked documents and other clues gathered by Ukrainian journalists suggest the equipment may have been supplied by the Kremlin.

The texts have been arriving since 2014, shortly after the fighting erupted. The AP documented nearly four dozen of them, including the one that Ms. Kirienko received on January 31, 2017 in Avdiivka, a battle-scarred town outside the principal rebel-held city of Donetsk.

The messages typically say things such as “Leave and you will live” or “Nobody needs your kids to become orphans.” Many are disguised to look as if they are coming from fellow soldiers.

In 2015, Ukrainian soldiers defending the railroad town of Debaltseve were sent texts appearing to come from comrades claiming their unit’s commander had deserted. Another set of messages warned that Ukrainian forces were being decimated. “We should run away,” they said.

“They were mostly threatening and demoralizing, saying that our commanders had betrayed us and we were just cannon fodder,” said Roman Chashurin, who served as a tank gunner in Debaltseve.

Ukrainian military and intelligence services had no comment on the phenomenon, but government and telecommunications officials are well aware of what’s going on.

A 2014 investigation by a major Ukrainian cellphone company concluded that cell site simulators were to blame for the rogue messages, according to an information security specialist who worked on the inquiry. He spoke on the condition that neither he nor his former firm be identified, citing a non-disclosure agreement.

Col. Serhiy Demydiuk, the head of Ukraine’s national cyberpolice unit, said in an interview that the country’s intelligence services knew the devices were being used as well.

“Avdiivka showed that the Russian side was using fake towers,” he said. “They are using them constantly.”

Cell site simulators work by impersonating cellphone towers, allowing them to intercept or even fake data. Heath Hardman, a former U.S. Marines signals analyst who operated the devices in Iraq and Afghanistan, said they were routinely used by American military intelligence officers to hunt insurgents.


Cell site simulators significantly sharpen the ability of propagandists to tailor their messages to a specific place or situation, according to Snow, the academic.

“There’s just something about viewing a message on your phone that just makes people more susceptible or vulnerable to its impact,” she said.

The type of hardware involved remains a matter of speculation. But last year, the Ukrainian investigative website InformNapalm published a video and photographs appearing to show a LEER-3, a Russian truck-mounted electronic warfare system, in the Donetsk area. InformNapalm also disclosed what it described as leaked Russian military documents discussing the LEER-3’s deployment to the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine.

A 2015 article in Russia’s Military Review magazine said the LEER-3 has a cell site simulator built into a drone that is capable of acting over a 6-km-wide area and hijacking up to 2,000 cellphone connections at once. That makes it a “pretty plausible” source for the rogue texts in Ukraine, said Mr. Hardman, the former signals analyst.

Russia’s Defence Ministry did not return a request for comment. Moscow has long denied any direct role in the fighting in Ukraine, despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary.

The effectiveness of the propaganda texts is an open question. Soldiers say they typically shrug them off.

“I can’t say that it had any influence on us,” said Mr. Chashurin, the former tank gunner. “We were even joking that they must be so afraid of us the only thing they can do is to spam us with these texts.”

But Svetlana Andreychuk, a volunteer who has made frequent trips to the front line to distribute food and supplies, said the threats and mockery sometimes hit a nerve in a grinding conflict that has claimed more than 9,900 lives.

“Some people are psychologically influenced,” she said. “It’s coming regularly. People are so tired. You see people dying. And then you face this.”

Russian ECM system Leer-3 in Syria
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Troops of Russia's Eastern Military District will receive the latest unmanned aerial vehicles Leer-3
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https://www.unian.info/war/1918371-ukraine-reports-53-enemy-attacks-2-kias-6-wias-in-last-day.html
Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 53 times in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as killed in action (KIA) and six as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1921019-...lling-of-avdiyivkas-residential-district.html
Around 19:30 on Saturday, militants opened fire on the residential neighborhood of Avdiyivka, which resulted in four civilians being killed and another one injured, that’s according to the chief of Donetsk region’s military and civilian administration Pavlo Zhebrivskiy.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1921294-ukraine-reports-4-wias-amid-61-enemy-attacks-in-last-day.html
Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 61 times in the past 24 hours with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/421140.html
The Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Coordination and Control (JCCC) states that in Donbas during the past day illegal armed formations were actively carrying out shelling of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including populated settlements along the entire line of disengagement.

"Over the night into Saturday, around 01:35, the militants fired on the village of Volnovakha with 15 artillery shells of 152 mm caliber, which is a grave violation of the Minsk accords on the use of prohibited weapons. Fortunately, there are no killed and wounded among the civilian population," the press service of the JCCC said.

According to their information, on Friday the illegal armed forces of ORDLO carried out shelling in the direction of the populated settlements of Maryinka and Krasnohorivka using 82-mm mortar. As a result of the bombardment, one house was destroyed on Heroyiv Chernobylia (Heroes of Chornobyl) Street, 206, and one mine exploded in the courtyard near the house along Soniachna Street, 8. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties among civilians.

In addition, on Friday, at about 11.30 the enemy fired the settlement of Chermalyk from small arms. A citizen of Ukraine was wounded. She was diagnosed with a "gunshot wound of the left leg" and sent to the hospital.

"Such criminal actions by the illegal armed formations of ORDLO testify about grave violations of the Minsk agreements and targeted actions to further aggravate the conflict and unwillingness to observe the ceasefire," the message says.


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20:19
One militiaman killed in Ukrainian shelling - DPR

15:52
Four IEDs found along OSCE SMM convoy's route near Savur-Mohyla - DPR

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https://www.unian.info/war/1938429-...avdiyivka-one-civilian-seriously-injured.html
Russia's hybrid military forces have mounted an attack on the old part of the Ukrainian-controlled town of Avdiyivka in Donbas, using 122mm Grad-P portable rocket launchers; one civilian has been injured, according to the local police.

"Rockets have hit houses at 96 Kolosova Street and 3 Levanevskoho Street. Fortunately, no one was injured there, [but] at 45 Lermontova Street, a male was wounded in the head," deputy chief of the National Police of Ukraine and chief of the local police in Donetsk region Viacheslav Abroskin wrote on Facebook on Tuesday, May 23.


The Grad-P portable model of large-diameter rocket launchers, also known as Partizan, was developed during the Soviet times at the request of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Large-scale production was launched at the Russian-based Kovrov mechanical plant in 1965, the first batch for export was shipped in spring 1966. Over 1,380 Grad-P launchers were manufactured from 1965 to 1972. At least 955 units were exported to Vietnam. Among other countries that operate Grad-P launchers are Egypt, Iran, China, Cuba, Syria and others.

The Brussels-based European multimedia news platform EU Reporter claims this type of weaponry is being manufactured by the Kovrov armorers in the Russian-occupied territory of Donbas.

https://www.unian.info/war/1922111-ukraine-updates-on-donbas-war-49-attacks-6-wias-in-last-day.html
15 May 2017

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 49 times in the past 24 hours with six Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1924334-ukraine-reports-2-wias-amid-37-enemy-attacks-in-last-day.html
16 May 2017
Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 37 times in the past 24 hours with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1926826-...a-damaged-by-militants-since-years-start.html
Over 500 homes –private houses and flats belonging to civilian residents in the Ukrainian-controlled town of Avdiyivka in Donetsk region – have been damaged by attacks mounted by Russia's hybrid military forces since the beginning of the year, according to local police.

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18 May 2017

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/war/1928454-...5-wias-amid-52-enemy-attacks-in-last-day.html

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 52 times in the past 24 hours with five Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1932654-ukraine-reports-4-wias-amid-55-enemy-attacks-in-last-day.html
20 May 2017

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 55 times in the past 24 hours with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 16 times on May 20, with five Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action, the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters reported on Facebook


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21 May 2017

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/war/1933444-...s-wounded-in-donbas-war-in-past-24-hours.html
Seven Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in shelling in Donbas in the past day, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters.

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Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/war/1936176-...-occupied-debaltseve-in-donbas-volunteer.html

The Ukrainian army has advanced one kilometer closer to the Russian-occupied town of Debaltseve in Donetsk region and taken new positions after Ukrainian troops had to repel enemy attacks, according to volunteer who raises funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Mysiahin.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia's hybrid military forces continued shelling Ukrainian positions on Monday, May 22. They used heavy artillery weapons twice during the day. One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in action.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1936639-donbas-militants-attack-ukraine-59-times-in-last-day-4-wias.html

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 59 times in the past 24 hours with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.


The Luhansk sector: nine militant shellings were recorded there in the past day. "Over the past day, four Ukrainian soldiers were wounded," the report says

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/423501.html

The Ukrainian side in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) at talks in Minsk has proposed setting up a working group to restore Ukraine's control over its border with Russia in Donbas, Ukrainian representative in the TCG working subgroup for political issues Oleksandr Motsyk said.

"We are now actively advancing this issue. If you look at the Minsk Agreements, the picture there is unclear as to what will happen to our border. And such a group must be created," Motsyk said at a roundtable in Kyiv on Tuesday.

It is a pity that such a group was not formed earlier, he said. "Such a group must be created. Without resolving the border issue, we cannot talk about settlement or holding elections," he said.

At present the TCG has four subgroups: on political, economic, humanitarian and security issues.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1943146-...hospital-university-block-houses-damaged.html
Russian-led hybrid troops have mounted an attack on a residential area and infrastructure facilities in the Ukrainian-controlled town of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk region, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters.

"According to an update, the attack has destroyed the district hospital's building, a block of Luhansk National Agrarian University's Donetsky training division at 2a Nakhimova Street, as well as two houses in a residential district," the ATO HQ reported in the early hours of Friday, May 26. "The attack is still on at 00:05 local time," it said.


As the ATO HQ reported earlier, the Ukrainian members of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) regarding the ceasefire in Donbas reported that Russia's hybrid military forces continued shelling Ukrainian-controlled towns and civil infrastructure facilities along the contact line. Their recent attack on civilians was aimed at a hospital in the town of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk region.

"Late on May 25, separatists again attacked a residential area of the town of Krasnohorivka, having used large-caliber weaponry banned by the Minsk agreements," the ATO HQ wrote on its Facebook on Thursday evening with reference to the JCCC.

"Patients and doctors haven't been injured, but the windows of the building have been broken," it gave details about the Thursday attack. The JCCC's Ukrainian members say they consider such attacks by illegal armed formations of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic to be gross violations of the Minsk peace agreements.

They explicitly fail to fulfill the commitments undertaken within the Minsk Trilateral Contact Group, and the violations are evidence that they deliberately plan and commit terror attacks on civilians in Ukraine.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1943251-ukraine-reports-5-wias-in-donbas-in-past-24-hours.html
The situation in the zone of the Anti-Terrorist Operation remains difficult, with the signs of escalation at certain sectors of the contact line, the ATO press center wrote on Facebook.

Over the past day, pro-Russian armed militant groups opened fire 57 times on the ATO forces, with the increased use of heavy artillery, banned under the Minsk Agreements. The militants attacked 29 times the Ukrainian troops in the Primorske direction.

In Donetsk direction, 26 violations by militants of ceasefire agreements were recorded.

The situation remains most tense in the suburbs of Avdiyivka. Last night, the area near Luhanske and the Svitlodarska bulge also saw escalation. Illegal armed formations over the past day attacked only two times in the Luhansk direction.

"As a result of hostilities in the past day, five troops of the Armed Forces have been wounded in action," the report said.

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https://www.unian.info/war/1944026-...rs-in-militant-controlled-area-of-donbas.html

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine has spotted banned 122mm Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers in the occupied territory of Donetsk region.

"The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, in implementation of the Memorandum, the Package of Measures and its Addendum," the SMM said in a report based on information received as of 19:30 local time on May 24, 2017.

"In violation of withdrawal lines, in non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw two self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) 2.5km north-east of Zaichenko (26km north-east of Mariupol) pointed in a south-westerly direction," the report says.

"On May 23, in non-government-controlled areas, the SMM saw an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23) mounted on a military truck (Ural-type) in the western outskirts of Luhansk city heading east on road M04 and, in the same location on 24 May, five IFVs (BTR-type) heading north; and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) (MT-LB) in Zaichenko (93km south of Donetsk). Aerial imagery revealed on 23 May three ACVs (type unknown) near Sokilnyky (38km north-west of Luhansk)," the mission said.

"In 'LPR'-controlled area south of Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM continued to observe, the remnants of a 82mm mortar and of a rocket of a multiple launch rocket system (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) on the tarmac road 250m north of the Prince Ihor monument," reads the report.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/424332.html
Five Ukrainian servicemen have suffered injuries and traumas on the Donbas contact line in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.

"Fortunately, the Ukrainian army had no combat fatalities during the day, but five servicemen suffered injuries and traumas as a result of the hostilities," Lysenko said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

Ukrainian positions were attacked 29 times in the Mariupol sector, he said, adding that strongholds near Krasnohorivka came under attack of various types of grenade launchers, a tank, an infantry combat vehicle, an anti-aircraft gun and infantry weapons.

The same populated locality was shelled by 120mm mortars and 152mm artillery in the evening, the ministry spokesman said.

Twenty-six ceasefire breaches were observed in the Donetsk sector, including those with the use of mortars and Grad launchers, he said.

There were two shooting incidents in the Luhansk sector, Lysenko said.

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http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/424362.html

The Ukrainian headquarters blocking trade with the areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions outside Kyiv control has announced plans to begin a new stage of activity in two weeks.

"We believe that the enterprises which are controlled by Russian citizens are the points, the pressure on which may make [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko to take a decision to return our captives. The owners of enterprises in Ukraine - are posing a danger to our country's security.... In two weeks, we will begin our action to apply pressure to the sore spots of Russian business," Anatoliy Vynohrodsky, second commander of the Donbas separate special forces battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard, told a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.

He would not say what the blockade's 'second stage' involved.

"To date, our headquarters has given the command to mobilize our supporters... We understand that trade with Russia is a very subtle moment and you can't shut everything off straight away, we are dealing with it partially," Vynohrodsky said.

Today it is possible to stop importing coal from the breakaway areas and Russia, he said. "The decision [to discontinue coal supplies from the breakaway Donbas areas] has not been signed. We will press and, if need be, will bulldoze the coal supplies," Vynohrodsky said.
 
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