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Russian militants attack Ukraine 39 times in last 24 hours, use artillery and grenade launchers
Posted on Monday, 1 August, 2016 - 2:11

The hostilities in the ATO zone escalated yesterday, especially in the Donetsk sector. 39 attacks of Russia-backed militant groups took place there in the last 24 hours. A third of attacks happened in the vicinity of Avdiivka. Militants are shooting at our troops in the industrial area from mortar launchers and grenade launchers during the day, and start artillery attacks in the afternoon till late night. Militants were attacking these positions using cannons for less than one hour from southeast direction, starting at 11 p.m. During this comparatively short period they launched over 110 missiles.
Russian militant groups also violated the ceasefire at the Svitlodarsk bulge and the northern outskirts of Horlivka, using mortar launchers and sniping fire. Ukrainian troops’ positions in Pisky were shelled from artillery.Militants started using mortar launchers more frequently. “The number of mortar shells launched at ATO forces’ positions exceeded 220, by Ukrainian troops’ estimates, which is an absolute record for the previous seven days.
In the Mariupol sector Ukrainian troops defeated the assault of two militants’ subversive reconnaissance groups near Mariinka. The attacks started around 7 p.m. Using two subversive reconnaissance groups under cover of mortar and grenade fire, the enemy attacked our troops’ positions from two opposite directions. The enemy was defeated in less than two hours. Moreover, Ukrainian troops’ positions near Mariinka were shelled from mortar launchers in the morning. Three mortar attacks took place in Krasnohorivka after 11 p.m. A series of provocations, mostly involving no use of heavy armor, took placein Talakivka, Vodiane and Shyrokyne. In total, 25 militants’ attacks took place in the Mariupol sector in 24 hours.
Insurgents violated the armistice in the Luhansk sector six times, mostly during the hours of darkness. Several mortar attacks, mostly at random, took place north of the Bakhmut road. The biggest number of ceasefire violations happened near Popasna. For instance, after the sunset Russian proxies started shooting at ATO troops using mortar launchers, armored personnel carrier weapons, grenade launchers and large machine guns. The shelling lasted over 90 minutes
Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses in combat yesterday and four troops were injured. According to the available information, one militant from the so-called “7th brigade” and “9th regiment of Russian occupational forces” died yesterday and 12 were wounded.
The military exercise “SeaBreeze-2016″ finished in the south of Ukraine. The exercise lasted for 13 days with participation of troops from 16 countries. “During the training the forces of various countries conducted a number of joint operations that have never been practiced during the “Sea Breeze” before. It was a joint amphibious operation, simultaneous landing of airborne troops by a pair of aircraft, delivering freight by helicopters between ships through external sling, building pontoon ferries etc.
ATO-Map-Ukraine-31-07-16-uaposition-1024x850.jpg
 
Russian proxies attack Ukraine 85 times in last 24 hours
Posted on Monday, 1 August, 2016 - 10:20

Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 85 times in the past 24 hours, including 37 times in the Donetsk sector, 35 times in the Luhansk sector and 13 times in the Mariupol sector, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.
The Russian-backed forces continue to violate the Minsk agreements and use large-caliber weapons, the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook on Monday.
In the Mariupol sector, the militants fired mortars of different calibers on the village of Shyrokyne and the town of Maryinka. They also fired from 82mm mortars and small arms on the town of Krasnohorivka, as well as from infantry fighting vehicles on the villages of Vodiane and Starohnativka. In addition, enemy snipers were active near Maryinka, Starohnativka and Novotroyitske.
”At about 22:42 Kyiv time, an enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group of up to five people was spotted near the village of Bohdanivka. The enemy approached at a distance of 100 meters and opened fire from small arms and easel automatic grenade launchers. Due to coordinated actions of the Ukrainian troops, the enemy had to retreat. The skirmish lasted for 18 minutes,” the press center said.
The enemy also conducted aerial reconnaissance near the village of Novotroyitske.
”In the Donetsk sector, the occupiers used heavy 152mm and 122mm artillery systems. The situation was particularly hot near the town of Avdiyivka at night as the enemy used more than one hundred of ammunition. The militants fired mortars of various calibers, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns on our positions in Avdiyivka, and the villages of Opytne, Zaitseve and Pisky. The situation was also tense in the villages of Maiorsk, Kamianka and Troyitske,” the press center said.
At the same time, in Luhansk region, the enemy opened chaotic fire from 82mm mortars and rocket-propelled grenades on the Ukrainian positions near the villages of Novotoshkivske, Novozvanivka and Krymske, provoking Ukrainian soldiers to fire back. The militants also used rocket-propelled grenades near the town of Popasna, and the villages of Novo-Oleksandrivka and Stanytsia Luhanska.
 
Dmitry Tymchuk: Military update 07.28
01.08.2016 - 12:33

Operational data from Information Resistance:
While remaining highly active with shelling and armed provocations, Russian-terrorist forces have accelerated the combat training of their units stationed in the rear. As of today, local terrorists and Russian mercenaries, led by “instructors” from the Russian Federation Armed Forces, have created a unified system of combat and skills training for units of the “1st” and “2nd” AC [Army Corps], involving a number of military exercise grounds and centers in occupied areas. The training undergone by these units also includes a rotating “initiation” in real combat conditions at the front line.

Near Avdiivka, occupiers deployed 122 mm cannon artillery, as well as 120 mm and 82 mm mortars. Fire from positions north and northwest of Yasynuvata and from theMineralneYakovlivka area targeted the ATO forces’ positions near the “industrial zone” and in the private residences sector (dachas) south of it. A pair of enemy BMP-2’s operated close to the Yasynuvata junction and the traffic police (GAI) station.

The occupiers also actively shelled the areas surrounding Avdiivka. The terrorists repeatedly used 120 mm mortars from the direction of the junction and northern outskirts of Spartak, firing at the ATO forces’ positions near the Putylivska mine air collector shaft (Butivka mine). An enemy mobile attack group with SPG-9M stand-mounted grenade launchers and ZU-23-2 anti aircraft systems “raked” the ATO forces’ positions near the Donetsk International Airport (DAP) and further west (Opytne andVodyane). Close to Pisky, terrorists fired several times from 82 mm mortars and heavy machine guns. A similar scenario occurred in the ZaitseveMayorsk area, [with firing] both from the direction of Holmivskyi and from north of Terykonna station.


Consequences of July 25-26 shelling in Avdiivka, Sedova street. The house burned down completely after a direct hit. The residents have sheer coincidence to thank for their survival: they were spending the night at another address. Source
Militants near Staromykhailivka brought up a new mortar unit of five to six 120 mm mortars from Vesele. Ukrainian troop positions on the southwestern and western perimeter of Krasnohorivka came under fire from the northern part ofStaromykhailivka. The enemy in this area also used 82 mm mortars.

In the coastal direction of operations, the situation remains tense. The enemy is proving particularly active in the Dokuchajevsk area, where militants are constantly trying to “push back” the ATO forces from this locality. South of the town and near the Tsentralnyy Karyer [Central Quarry] waste banks, there is constant shelling by militants from mortars of both calibers (individual mortar shell explosions were also recorded near the Mariupol-Donetsk highway close to Novotroitske). There is also enemy shelling in the vicinity of Berezove (mainly from small arms and stand-mounted grenade launchers). The enemy uses grenade launchers and mortars (82-120 mm) in the Talakivka, Hnutove,and Shyrokyne areas.

On the Svitlodarsk salient, the enemy is actively using AGS-17’s and 120 mm mortars. The ATO forces positions close to Rozsadky and south of Luhanske were frequently shelled, from enemy positions southeast of Nyzhnje Lozove and from the direction ofNovohryhorivka.

Militants are particularly active in the Luhansk direction of operations, near Stanytsia Luhanska and Novozvanivka (mainly using small arms, VOG [anti-personnel] grenades, and AGS-17’s).

The enemy is actively reinforcing their units in the western sections of Horlivka, in thePetrovskyi district of Donetsk, south of the city, as well as on the coastal flank. During the past 24 hours, considerable vehicle traffic (including special-purpose vehicles) was observed along the southern section of the Donetsk Bypass, from [pistol club] Artemida in the direction of Oleksandrivka, as was the movement of up to 10 BBM armored fighting vehicles (mainly BTR-80’s and MT-LB’s). Near Horlivka, a mobile attack group (two BMP-1’s, an Ural truck with a ZU-23-2, and two Kamaz trucks with personnel and ammunition) drove past the knitwear factory northwards.


Consequences of July 25 shelling in Avdiivka, Turheneva street. Source
There has been a notable increase in the concentration of militant units in theBezimenne area, as well as north of the town. In total, up to a militant motorized infantry company has been moved to the area. In the Dzerzhinsky district north ofSakhanka, positions for armored vehicles and transportation trucks are being equipped.

The leadership of the “DNR Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA)” has delivered a report on its work over the past six months. During the “DNR MIA” directorate meeting held in Donetsk, it was stated that during the first half of this year, the crime-solving rates were 80% for murders, 85% for crimes with grievous bodily harm, and about 60% for fraud. At the same time, the “confidential” section of the “DNR MIA” leadership’s final report noted an increase in the number of crimes in the occupied areas of Donetsk region, with a tendency for a further rise in criminality. Especially singled out were the widespread disregard of curfews by the local population and the general ineffectiveness of “law enforcement” agencies, primarily due to corruption among “DNR MIA” officials. According to the report, in June 2016 alone, about 600 cases of corruption were recorded in organisational units of the “DNR MIA.”

In the “DNR,” investigation continues in the case of Valentin Laktionov, the deputy head of the Donetsk city “administration,” arrested on July 19, 2016, on charges of fraud over “humanitarian aid” medicines arriving from Russia. According to the documentation, the medicines were supposed to be distributed free of charge to medical institutions in Donetsk, whereas in reality they were sold through the network of pharmacies. Attempts by Laktionov’s patrons in the “DNR” leadership to “hush up” the case have met with a tough response from Russian “supervisors” demanding severe punishment for this “official.” The Moscow representatives believe that looting of “humanitarian aid” sent from Russia to the “DNR” has become so prevalent that it requires a series of criminal show trials and court rulings against the local high-level “officials” involved in this type of fraud.
 
ATO Spokesperson: Yesterday in the morning, Ukrainian troops repelled an attack of enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups near Novooleksandrivka in the Luhansk sector
15.08 14:50
As a result of the fighting, which lasted 20 minutes, two militants were killed. The enemy escaped the battlefield with casualties. No single Ukrainian soldier was either killed or wounded in action, said Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, presidential administration spokesperson on the ATO-related issues.
Also, militants fired six artillery shells and three 120-mm mortar mines at Ukrainian positions in Popasna area. Single armed provocations occurred near Krymske village. Near Zhovte village, enemy sniper has been active for 3 days already.
In the Donetsk sector, intense fighting continued in Avdiyivka industrial area – half of all enemy attacks in this sector were recorded near Avdiyivka. Militants also carried out mortar attacks at Ukrainian positions near Butovka Mine position, Verhniotoretske and Luhanske village. In the areas above mentioned and near Mayorsk, militants fired with grenade launchers, machine guns and small arms at ATO forces.
In the Mariupol sector, the largest number of enemy attacks across the entire front line remains. This is the only area where militants opened fire from infantry combat vehicles. This happened near Maryinka, Vodiane, Talakivka and Shyrokyne. Also heavy weapons were actively applied in the Mariupol sector: heavy mortars – in the area of Maryinka, Taramchuk, Novotroitske and Talakivka. Militants shelled with artillery Ukrainian positions in Novoselivka around midnight. Another three enemy armed provocations with the use of small arms were recorded near Hnutove, Bohdanivka and Starohnativka.
Over the previous day, Ukrainian Armed Forces did not incur any casualties; one soldier was wounded in action.

ATO Spokesperson: In the Mariupol sector, militants performed four artillery attacks against Ukrainian Armed Forces
17.08 13:26
Artillery shelling occurred in Maryinka, Rybynske village, Chermalyk and Novoselivka. In Krasnohorivka, Slavne, Lebedynske and Shyrokyne, the enemy applied mortars. Overall, yesterday in the Mariupol sector, the enemy fired more than 130 artillery shells and 80 mortar shells at Ukrainian positions.
In the Luhansk sector, the enemy broke the silence mode in two areas of the frontline – in Popasna area and near Stanytsia Luhanska. Before the dawn militants shelled positions of ATO forces in the village of Vrubivka north of Popasna. Late in the evening, in Popasna militants used armaments of BMP. In Stanytsia Luhanska, the enemy intensified after sunset and performed three attacks. No heavy weapons were applied during attacks.
In the Donetsk sector, military situation remains strained. Fighting continues across the entire contact line, excluding Donetsk airport area. Militants carry out single provocations at day, get more active in the evening; their attacks last longer and weapons are changed for larger than at a daytime. In the evening, militants increasingly used mortars. In Avdiyivka industrial area, enemy tactics are different: attacks continue, regardless of time of day, and heavy weapons are openly used in the afternoon as well.
Over the previous day, Ukrainian Armed Forces did not incur any casualties; eight Ukrainian servicemen were wounded in action.

ATO Spokesperson: Militants almost doubled the number of attacks at Ukrainian positions – 96 cases of cease-fire violation against 52 day before
18.08 15:42
Enemy used artillery in all three sectors, even in the daytime. According to estimates of the General Staff, yesterday, militants shelled at Ukrainian positions more than five hundred mortar shells and more than 300 artillery shells, said Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, presidential administration spokesperson on the ATO-related issues.
In the Luhansk sector, major hostilities occurred in Popasna area. For the first time – militants performed powerful artillery and mortar fire after midnight. Next time, in Popasna militants applied artillery late at night.
At day, militants used grenate launchers and machine guns in the area of the Bakhmut road and in Stanytsia Luhanska. There, after sunset, Russia-backed militants also opened fire with weapons on BMP.
In the Donetsk sector, night started with strong mortar attack that occupants organized in Svitlodarsk area and at the frontline stretching from Novoselivka Druha to Avdiyivka. At dawn, militants opened fire with mortars and artillery near the Donetsk airport.
In other frontline areas, the enemy intensified already in the evening. In the area of Svitlodarsk, in the northern outskirts of Horlivka and in Novhorodske, strong enemy mortar and artillery attacks occurred.
In the Mariupol sector, near Hranite, shortly after midnight, militants fired 40 artillery shells of 152 mm caliber. Between 2 and 4 AM, in the Maryinka district, a series of mortar attacks was held. Later in the afternoon, shootout between Ukrainian troops and the enemy started and continued until late evening. In the south area of Mariupol sector, the enemy was active near Talakivka, Vodiane and Shyrokyne.
Over the previous day, three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and six – were wounded in action.
Loss of militants yesterday accounted to three militants killed and three wounded in action.

ATO Spokesperson: Yesterday, near Svitlodarsk which is in the Donetsk sector, militants were perhaps most active since the beginning of ATO
19.08 15:22
Militants that hold positions in the village of Kalynivka and in Gorlovka, fired 136 artillery shells at the positions of Ukrainian troops near Luhanske and Semyhirya. The enemy actively applied mortars of 82 and 120 millimeters caliber, said Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, presidential administration spokesperson on the ATO-related issues.
Yesterday, near Troitske, enemy tank fired at Ukrainian positions. Also traditionally difficult military situation remains near Avdiyivka – militants used mortars, grenade launchers and small arms. As a result of enemy shelling, St. Michael’s church, located in the central area of the city, was damaged.
In the Luhansk sector, militants opened fire with 120-mm mortars near Zolote and with 122-mm artillery in the area of Novozvanivka and Kalynove. In the morning, militants were inactive; however, later in the afternoon, they resumed hostilities near Popasna and Novooleksandrivka with the use of grenade launchers and small arms. Shelling continued till midnight. As a result of enemy shelling of Stanytsia Luhanska, a building of the local school was damaged.
In the Mariupol sector, near the village of Bohdanivka, there occurred a clash between militants and ATO forces. Ukrainian military opened fire in response and forced the militants to retreat. Armed provocations took place throughout the entire front line almost non-stop. The most strained situation remained near Myrne village, where militants carried out artillery shelling. Militants fired 74 mortar mines near Maryinka. Another 6 mines were fired by militants near Pavlopil.
Over the previous day, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in action.
Yesterday in the ATO area, seven flights of enemy UAVs were recorded.
 
31.10.16 10:21
Ukrainian positions came under terrorist fire 54 times yesterday, - Staff
Over the past 24-hour period, Russian occupation troops opened fire upon Ukrainian fighters' positions 54 times.

In Mariupol direction, 31 truce breaches were recorded: "In violation of the cease-fire, the enemy fired small arms, machine guns, and grenade launchers in Marinka and Novomykhailivka, 82 mm mortars in Pavlopil, and anti-tank missile systems, grenade launchers, machine guns, and 120 mm mortars in Talakivka and Shyrokyne. Starohnativka defenders came under IFV, grenade launchers and small arms fire; Krasnohorivka and Hnutove were shelled from mortars of both calibers, machine guns, and grenade launchers," the report reads.

The Staff says Vodiane positions of the Ukrainian army were shelled yesterday from weapons of various calibers, including 152 mm cannon artillery.


"In Luhansk direction, five cease-fire violations were recorded. The enemy resorted to armed provocations near Lopaskyne with the use of grenade launchers, in Krymske - with 82 mm mortars, grenade launchers, and small arms. Russian occupation troops fired at Troitske with 120 mm mortars, and at Kalynovo-Popasna with 122 mm artillery," the report reads.

The ATO press center said 18 provocations against the Armed Forces of Ukraine occurred in Donetsk direction.

"In Zaitseve, the enemy sprayed ATO forces' positions with grenade launchers and small arms fire, near Luhanske and Novhorodske - from IFV weapons and large-caliber machine guns. Defenders in Verkhniotoretske and Troitske came under 82 mm mortar fire, those in Avdiivka and Butivka mine - under fire from mortars of both calibers."
 
01.11.16 09:55
Russian terrorists attacked Ukrainian troops 36 times yesterday, used heavy artillery, IFVs, - Staff
The Russian occupation forces committed 36 attacks on positions of the Ukrainian defenders over the past 24-hour period.


According to the Staff, 17 provocations were recorded in Mariupol direction: "The enemy fired at the strong points of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Hranitne, Lebedynske, Hnutove, and Novotroitske with large-caliber machine guns, grenade launchers, and small arms. The terrorists also employed IFV weapons against Ukrainian troops' positions in the vicinity of Berezne."

It is reported that the militants committed strikes with 120 mm mortars on the outskirts of Stepne and shelled Shyrokyne and Krasnohorivka with 82 and 120 mm mortars.

"Nine cases of truce breach were recorded in Luhansk direction. The enemy employed grenade launchers and small arms against the ATO forces at Nyzhnioteple and Lopaskyne, while the defenders of Krymske came under strikes with 120 and 122 mm cannon artillery and mortars," the situation report reads.

The Staff also said 10 attacks took place in Donetsk direction: "The Russian occupation troops fired upon the Ukrainian soldiers near Luhanske with IFV guns and employed 82 mm mortars, machine guns, grenade launchers, and small arms against Ukrainian troops' positions on the outskirts of Avdiivka, Butivka mine and Verkhniotoretske."
 
01.11.16 21:58
Russia revives Soviet military facilities, builds new bases in occupied Crimea, - Reuters. PHOTOS
Moscow is reanimating multiple Soviet-built facilities in Crimea, building new bases and stationing soldiers there.


"The missile bunkers that dot the verdant hills along Crimea's southern coast are known locally as Object 100. Until recently, tourists paid $50 to visit the crumbling and abandoned former Soviet sites, which served during the Cold War as a defense against naval attack from the Black Sea.

"Now the bunkers are coming back online. After Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, signs went up in the woods around the sites warning visitors against entering a 'forbidden zone of the Russian Ministry of Defense'," the publication notes.

A resident of a nearby village who said he was employed at the base last year said Russian soldiers had re-occupied the sites and blocked roads leading into the area. He was unable to say when the Russian soldiers arrived.

"It is a functioning military base with an anti-ship missile system," the villager explained.


However, as reported, the bunkers are just one small part of a new Russian program to militarize the Crimean peninsula. Based on recent site observations by Reuters, Moscow has reanimated multiple Soviet-built facilities in the region, built new bases and stationed soldiers there.

In a week touring the region, a Reuters reporter saw 18 sites, including naval bases, radar stations and airfields. Some were entirely new, some were old military sites that had been refurbished, and others were in the process of being refurbished.

"At Perevalne, a small village at the foot of a mountain not far from Simferopol in the center of the peninsula, Russia is transforming an abandoned Ukrainian military facility into two new bases.

"According to documents lodged by the defense ministry on the official website for public procurement tenders, one of the two bases will be for coast guards and the other for artillery units.

"The ministry documents, which were lodged from October 2014, indicate the combined projects will include dormitories for more than 1,000 soldiers, residential buildings with more than 300 apartments, an ammunition depot, hangars for more than 500 military vehicles, an artillery range and dining facilities," the report reads.

Most of the expansion in Crimea is being carried out by the Russian navy and ground forces. But air capabilities are also being beefed up, according to the report.
"The former Belbek civilian airport has been turned into a military air base," a Reuters reporter who went to the base says.
"Two other military airfields are also now in use again by the Russian military. At the Novofedorivka airfield, in a coastal village to the north of Sevastopol, a Reuters reporter saw half a dozen dark-grey SU-30 fighter jets and light-grey SU-24 frontline bombers.
"At the other recommissioned air base, in Dzhankoi, 40 km south of the de facto border separating Crimea from Ukrainian-controlled territory, Russian servicemen in blue uniform came and went throughout the day. Seven MI-24 attack helicopters were parked on the airfield," the publication notes.

Read more: Termination of water and energy supplies from Ukraine to Crimea is crime, Russia's Putin says

 
Ukraine War 2016 - Helmet Cam Combat Footage During Intense Firefight in Zaitseve
 
what I'm been able to read here is that the separatists violate that cease-fire constantly and some "experts" here predict an all-out war in the near future.
just hope those experts are wrong and that idiot in kremlin would do the right thing and stop the support all together to those terrorists.
 
Fight or Flight

Ukraine now has the second-largest standing army in Europe; Russia has the largest.
After a two-year crash course to rebuild its military, Ukraine has increased its active-duty ranks from 150,000 to 250,000 troops.
(France has about 209,000 active troops, Germany has about 176,750 active troops, Spain has about 133,000, Poland has about 101,500, and the U.K. has about 153,600.)
Ukraine rebuilt its army “almost from scratch within two years,” Poroshenko said in the Independence Day speech.
Today, “Ukraine is capable of defending itself, but requires further support,” Poroshenko said.
Ukraine has also increased its defense budget to about $6 billion, representing roughly 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Military spending is set to increase by about 10 percent annually.
Russia, which has three times the population of Ukraine and 10 times the GDP, has an active-duty force of about 800,000 with a reserve force of 2 million. Russia’s 2015 defense budget was about $65 billion—roughly 10 times that of Ukraine and on par with the United Kingdom.
Ukraine’s annual defense budget is still a fraction of Western military powers, such as France (about $36 billion), Germany (about $37 billion), and the United Kingdom (about $65 billion).
Ukraine’s military strength, however, lies in the size of its army, and the quantity of military hardware at its disposal.
Ukraine, for example, currently operates more than 2,800 tanks—compared with 423 in France, 407 in the U.K., and 408 in Germany.
And Ukraine’s arsenal comprises 625 multiple launch rocket systems—compared with 44 in France, 42 in the U.K., and Germany’s 50.
Yet, while Ukraine maintains a numerical advantage over other European nations in terms of troops and conventional weapons, its military needs to modernize. Much of Ukraine’s arsenal dates from the Cold War.

Arms Race


Eastern Europe is rapidly militarizing.
According to Ukrainian military reports, combined Russian-separatist forces in the Donbas now wield about 700 tanks, 1,200 armored vehicles, 1,000 pieces of artillery, and 300 multiple launch rocket systems.
This puts the combined Russian-separatist forces in control of more tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, and artillery pieces than the armed forces of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Among EU countries, only Poland controls more tanks than combined Russian-separatist forces possess in the Donbas.
According to Ukrainian military reports, as well as reports from civilian intelligence firms, there are about 1,500 to 5,000 Russian regulars currently operating in the Donbas in tandem with a separatist force of about 40,000 troops.
Russia also has about 55,000 military personnel forward deployed to bases on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine’s military said.
Russia has also built up a heavy military presence in Crimea. The Ukrainian military says Russia has about 45,000 military personnel inside the occupied peninsula.
Since 2010, Russian military spending has gone up by 80 percent, according to NATO.
Russian military spending surged by 28.6 percent in 2015 alone. Russia’s initial 2016 military budget called for an 8 percent reduction in overall military spending, but a late budget addition this year boosted overall military spending to about 3.89 trillion rubles (about $62.4 billion)—a 14 percent jump from 2015 spending, in real terms, according to a NATO report published on the alliance’s website.
Russia is about midway through a 10-year military modernization project, called the State Armaments Program. From 2010 to 2020, the Kremlin’s military overhaul project plans to spend 19 trillion rubles, about $647 billion at the average exchange rate in 2011, across all branches of the Russian armed forces.
Despite a 3.7 percent fall in GDP in 2015, and a projected 0.8 percent decline this year, Russia is still on track to meet 17.5 trillion of its pledged 19 trillion rubles for the overhaul.
Russia’s military adventures in Ukraine rattled the former Soviet countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—all NATO members. Military spending across the Baltic countries has consequently surged.
In 2020, the combined defense budgets of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are projected to have increased by 226 percent over 2005 levels—from $930 million to $2.1 billion.
Latvia and Lithuania have had the two fastest growing defense budgets in the world since 2014, according to IHS Jane’s. And by 2018, the three Baltic states will have each doubled or tripled their budgets from 10 years ago, said Craig Caffrey, principal analyst at IHS Jane’s.
“This growth is faster than any other region globally,” Caffrey said.

The Military-Industrial Complex


Ukrainian society and industry are becoming more martial due to the conflict with Russia.
For one, Ukraine has embarked on a piecemeal reconstitution of its military-industrial complex. This revival has, however, been fraught with accusations of corruption and bureaucratic resistance to change.
Ukraine has the legacy industrial infrastructure to be a major arms producer. According to a recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Ukraine was the world’s ninth-largest arms exporter in the period from 2011 to 2015.
During the Soviet era, Ukraine was an industrial hub for producing weapons and military hardware. The Soviet model, however, required production to be scattered across different Soviet countries, so that no one country was exclusively relied upon to produce vital military hardware.
The Soviet military-industrial complex was a collective effort across the USSR. Today, Ukraine is consequently left with production gaps from the Soviet era.
An example: Antonov, Ukraine’s largest state-owned aircraft producer, had previously relied on parts from Russian suppliers. Due to the war, however, those suppliers have been cut off.
Antonov now produces about three aircraft a year, according to Ukrainian news reports. The company needs to produce about 12 aircraft annually to be profitable.
In a statement published to its website, Ukroboronprom, Ukraine’s nationalized defense production conglomerate, said it was operating at less than half its production capacity due to “underfunding of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which occurred due to the lack of legislative changes.”
The Ukrainian government allocated 13.5 billion hryvnias (about $500 million) in 2016 to repair, modernize, and produce new weapons for its armed forces.
Ukroboronprom said it received only 32.6 percent of this amount—4.4 billion hryvnias, or about $163 million—from the government. Out of that payment, 1.6 billion hryvnias ($59 million) went to repair military equipment, and 2.8 billion hryvnias ($104 million) to produce new weapons.
Ukrainian society has also adapted to the state of perpetual conflict with Russia.
Across the country, civilians regularly meet on the weekends for military training. They comprise a network of partisan forces called territorial defense battalions.
These civilian volunteer paramilitary units, which can be rapidly mobilized to defend against a Russian invasion, are not official military units. But they receive training, equipment, and in some cases, arms from the regular military.
This grassroots defense mindset—a throwback to partisan groups in World War II—promises a protracted guerrilla conflict should Russia ever invade Ukraine.
“When Putin encounters the possibility of fighting territorial defense battalions, militias, or even students, it acts as a deterrent,” Serhiy Yanchuk, an associate professor at Taras Shevchenko National University, told The Daily Signal in an earlier interview.
Yanchuk is coordinator of the university’s Students Guard, a volunteer militia comprising students and faculty.

NATO Standards

Ukraine’s military is in the process of a top-to-bottom overhaul to bring it in line with NATO standards by 2020.
Even the colors of symbols denoting friendly versus enemy forces on military maps have been flipped to match NATO maps. (Friendly forces were marked red and the enemy was blue on Soviet military maps, a color arrangement still used by Russia.)
In 2015, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense launched a special reform office, spearheaded by 39-year-old businessman Andriy Zagorodnyuk.
Ukrainian news reports have documented the bureaucratic headwinds Zagorodnyuk has faced while trying to reform the military.
“This year, we had a huge bureaucratic backfire from the system,” Zagorodnyuk told the English-language Kyiv Post newspaper in November. “Bureaucratic, probably corrupt. … Very rarely someone tells you to your face that he wants to keep things the old way. Usually people come up with a million different excuses.”
On May 20, Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, signed into law a comprehensive military reform plan called the Strategic Defense Bulletin.
The document calls for a total revamp of Ukraine’s military doctrine, training, and operations to ultimately achieve the “criteria necessary for the full membership in NATO.”
It also singles out Russia as Ukraine’s No. 1 national security threat.
Ukraine is not vying for regional influence over Russia. Rather, many Ukrainian soldiers and politicians say the current conflict is for Ukraine’s independence from Moscow.
Yet, tensions are inflamed to such a degree between Ukraine and Russia that there is scant leeway to absorb the shock of an unexpected event without it leading to total war.
“Ukraine is mobilizing around another idea—the idea of a political nation, that would one day find its place in European political, economic, and security structure,” Plokhy, the Harvard University professor, said.
Plokhy added: “It is not only a state-political divorce, as it was in 1991. It is a mental, psychological breakup of Ukrainians and Russians.
”Source: http://en.censor.net.ua/r419170
 
Saturday, 14 January, 2017 - 0:29 (EET) in Latest news, Maps, Top stories, War & conflict, War in Donbas

Escalation in Donbas, Ukrainian Armed Forces incurred no losses in combat yesterday, and 3 troops were wounded in the vicinity of Popasna according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters
http://uaposition.com/file/2017/01/Situation-in-Donbas-January-13-2017-Ukraine-conflict-map.jpg
In the Mariupol sector, Russian militants lobbed mortar shells into the villages of Vodiane and Shyrokyne where Ukrainian troops are stationed. The towns of Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, and the villages of Pavlopil, Hnutove, Vodiane and Shyrokyne came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. The Russian militants also used an infantry fighting vehicle to attack the village of Talakivka. A sniper was active in Shyrokyne and Talakivka. In total, militants shelled Ukrainian troops 36 times in the Mariupol sector yesterday.
In the Luhansk sector Russian militants used banned 152mm artillery systems to shell the town of Popasna, and the villages of Kalynove and Novozvanivka. They also fired 120mm and 82mm mortars on the town of Zolote, and the villages of Sentianivka, Novozvanivka, and Krymske. Rocket-propelled grenades and small arms were used to attack the villages of Novozvanivka and Novo-Oleksandrivka. The total number of militants’ attacks in the Luhansk sector reached 26 yesterday, and heavy weapons were used in more, than one third of all incidents.
In the Donetsk sector the situation remains difficult in Avdiivka industrial area. Russian militants used 120mm and 82mm mortars to shell the villages of Luhanske, Troyitske, and Zaitseve. What is more, they fired rocket-propelled grenades and small arms on the Ukrainian positions near the town of Avdiyivka, and the villages of Kamianka, Luhanske, Zaitseve, and Troyitske. Luhanske was also attacked by an enemy infantry fighting vehicle. During almost 5 hours militants were actively using machine guns and grenade launchers, firing over 70 mortar shells. Russian militants made a number of attacks in Kamianets and Putylivska coal mine position adjacent to the industrial area, engaging mortars as well. Militant troops became active at the Svitlodarsk bulge again. They were actively using armor and mortar launchers together with light weapons.
 
Friday, 13 January, 2017 - 15:41 (EET) in Analysis & Opinion, Cyberwar and security, International, Latest news, Top stories, War & conflict

Swedish Institute of International Affairs reports that the Russian Federation make fake news, false documents, disinformation as part of a coordinated campaign to influence public opinion and decision-making in Sweden.

“An increasing amount of disinformation, forged telegrams and fake news items have surfaced in the Swedish information landscape. These developments have taken place in the context of a deteriorated security situation in the wider Baltic region, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in February 2014,” reads the report

“Russian politicians and diplomats have proactively intervened in Sweden’s domestic political affairs; and a number of pro-Kremlin NGOs and GONGOs have become operational in Sweden. In social media, troll armies are targeting journalists and academics, including the ‘hijacking’ of Twitter accounts. Disinformation on NATO and suspected intrusions by foreign submarines have appeared in Swedish media, themes which were picked up by Sputnik, RT and other sources of Russian public diplomacy and broadcast to an international audience. Lastly, there exist examples of important target groups in Sweden, such as political actors, NGOs and newspapers, who wittingly or unwittingly have performed a role as interlocutors of disinformation,” states Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

One of the report’s authors, Sebastian Åsberg stated that a key Russian tool was the Swedish-language version of its state-funded news website Sputnik News, which published four thousand propaganda articles between 2015 and spring 2016, when it was closed.

“Sputnik International, which replaced Voice of Russia on 10 November 2014, launched its Swedish language version on 15 April 2015. The most frequently appearing targets in Swedish Sputnik reporting are the EU (698 articles), NATO (321) and the United States (1018). Ukraine is referenced 882 times, almost without exception in an extremely unfavourable light (with ‘fascism’, ‘corruption’, ‘authoritarianism’ and ‘belligerence’ as some of the most recurring themes).”

The report stated that the Russian Federation had used misleading reports, forged documents and fabricated news items on its state-run news website Sputnik, and public interventions by Russian politicians in Swedish domestic affairs, as well as more covert methods.

“One example of Sputnik’s operating mode is the way the news site reported on Ukraine and Syria in 2015. Attention towards Ukraine radically diminished in August, at the same time as coverage of Syria began to increase. Syrian war had been consistently intense for months, if not years, prior to the entrance of Russian airpower to the conflict, and there were no major changes to the situation in Ukraine to motivate such a rapid loss in interest. The shift merely reflected how Sputnik reporting, as an instrument of Russian public diplomacy, shifted pari passu with changes in Russian foreign policy.”

Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Löfven, told a national defence conference this week that he “cannot rule out” Russia trying to influence the country’s next elections, which are due in 2018.

“We should not rule it out and be naive and think that it does not happen in Sweden. That’s why information and cybersecurity is part of this strategy,” Löfven told the TT news agency.

“Outright fabrications occur on a limited scope. The most prominent example is the counter-hypothesis supported by Russia that the civilian airliner MH17, which crashed in the Donbas region of Ukraine in July 2014, was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet rather than a surface-to-air missile operated from rebel held territory”, reads the report.
Sweden’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt was a target of fake news because of criticism of foreign policy of the Russian Federation and support of Ukrainian EU integration:

“The most frequently appearing target in the forgeries uncovered in our research is Sweden’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt (2006–2014), a politician known for his criticism of Russian foreign policy and support of Ukrainian EU integration. In May 2016, an article appeared on Russian and English language websites claiming that Bildt had proposed the creation of an organisation to counter EU-scepticism and develop closer EU–Ukraine ties.”

Ukraine is very popular theme among fake news provided by Russia:

“The efficiency of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in February 2014 is usually explained in part with reference to the rigorous use of disinformation, and the narratives are by now well established: Kyiv is operated by a ‘US/NATO-led fascist junta’; murderous gangs threaten peaceful residents in Crimea and eastern Ukraine; and millions of citizens in Donetsk and Luhansk wish to join the Russian Federation.”


“The main contribution of our case study on Sweden, a littoral state of the Baltic Sea region, is the empirical analysis of how and to what extent Russia since 2014 has applied public diplomacy and active measures in order to influence policy making in Sweden in at least two important areas: Swedish–NATO cooperation and Swedish/EU support for Ukraine,” states Swedish Institute of International Affairs.
 
Saturday, 14 January, 2017 - 17:09 (EET) in Crimea Crisis, Latest news, Top stories, War & conflict

The Russian Federation anti-aircraft missile regiment based in Crimea armed with S-400 Triumf air defense missile system has assumed combat duty, the press office the Russian Southern Military District reported on Friday, according to TASS.

“A ceremony will be held in the antiaircraft missile regiment of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army of the Southern Military District on January 14 for the command post and the S-400 Triumf battalion to assume combat duty,” read the report.

“It is for the first time, that a unique air defense complex assumed combat duty in Crimea – it will raise the combat opportunities of the air defense,” said the Russian Commander of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army Viktor Sevastianov.

The armament of the 18th Guard Anti-Aircraft Rocket Sevastopol-Feodosia Regiment stationed near the city of Feodosia in Crimea was replenished with the advanced S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems in 2016.

The Russian Federation anti-aircraft missile regiment’s troops underwent re-training and held missile test launches as part of the Caucasus-2016 strategic maneuvers in August 2016.

The S-400 complex is designated to destroy all types of modern and perspective aerospace attack means. It is capable of hitting aerodynamic targets at a range of up to 400 kilometers (249 miles) and tactical ballistic targets flying at a speed of 4.8 km/s (3 mi/s) at a distance of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) at altitudes of several meters to several dozen kilometers.
 
what I read here,the so called cease-fire has been broken by those terrorists on so many occasions thet it's a live only on paper :(
 
15.01.17 10:14
60 militants’ attacks reported yesterday. Terrorists used artillery, anti-tank systems, IFVs, rocket launchers and mortars, - ATO press service
It was reported about 60 militants’ attacks at Ukrainian soldiers in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area on Jan.14.
ATO press center.

In the Mariupol sector, the militants mortared Shyrokyne, Marinka, Slavne, and Vodiane. At the same time, Hnutove, Pavlopil, Talakivka, Shyrokyne, Starohnativka were fired from grenade launchers and small arms. The militants used IFV weapons firing at Novomykhailivka and Slavne. The militants' sniper was spotted near Krasnohorivka.

In the Donetsk sector, the ATO forces' positions at Luhanske were shelled with 122 mm guns. Kamianka, Myronivske, Zaitseve, and Avdiivka were mortared, while Kamianka, Myronivske, Zaitseve, Novoselivka Druha, Avdiivka, Novhorodske, and Kruta Balka were fired from grenade launchers and small arms. The militants used IFV weapons firing at Troitske.

In the Luhansk sector, the militants used 152 mm guns near Novozvanivka, mortars near Novozvanivka and Novotoshkivske. Krymske and Novooleksandrivka were fired from anti-tank systems. Orikhove and Lobacheve were fired from grenade launchers and small arms. The militants' sniper was spotted near Stanytsia Luhanska.

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and three servicemen were wounded.
 
17.01.17 10:24
Russian militants opened fire 41 times yesterday, wounded one Ukrainian fighter, - Staff
The enemy continues shelling the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) forces in all directions.

According to the Staff, Russian occupants used 82 mm mortars to shell Pavlopil in Mariupol direction, and grenade launchers and small arms to fire upon Pavlopil, Hnutove, Marinka, Vodiane, Krasnohorivka, and Shyrokyne.

In Luhansk direction, the enemy employed grenade launchers and small arms upon Shariv Kut, Stanytsia Luhanska, and Novozvanivka.

In Donetsk direction, Luhanske, Opytne, Avdiivka, and Myronivske came under grenade launcher fire.

"Over the past 24-hour period, 41 cases of fire [upon Ukrainian positions - ed.] were recorded. One military received injuries," the message reads.
 

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