Eduard Popov Donbass sitrep: Ukrainian losses “colossal,” shelling worse than 2014 level

February 1, 2017 –
By Eduard Popov for Fort Russ – translated by J. Arnoldski –
On the morning of January 31st, I gave an interview to Radio Sputnik (part of which was later published by RIA Novosti under the title “Poroshenko uses the old tactic of ‘shedding tears'”) in which I expressed the following thought: Poroshenko probably went to Germany to talk with Merkel without a real agenda. Hence why he simply broke off the meeting and went back to Ukraine. The reason? If the UAF offensive from Avdeevka on Donetsk went successfully, then he would probably explain from Germany that this is the self-activism of patriots whom he doesn’t control. “I didn’t violate the Minsk Agreements, this was an initiative of patriot volunteers,” he would say.
But Poroshenko interrupted the visit and returned to Ukraine to prevent a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Avdeevka. The reason is simple: things did not go according to Poroshenko and the Ukrainian General Staff’s plan. Thus, Poroshenko changed out the warrior’s sword for the mantle of peacemaker. He will play the role of the victim and cry to the whole world about how Ukraine has has been harmed by “evil” Russia, and call on the West to punish the “aggressor.” He is totally indifferent to the suffering of the civilians of Avdeevka (I’ve been there many times and even lived for a time in this small town of metallurgists), but he will use them to lend credibility to his complaints.
I’ve also concluded that the large losses that Ukraine is suffering and the fact of Poroshenko’s urgent return to Kiev speak in favor of this theory. Ukraine will soon once again turn to beg the world.
It appears like everything is going in this direction.
Last night, I talked with my friends in Donetsk. During our conversation, I could hear the explosions of artillery bombardments and Grad rocket fire. The Ukrainians were shooting right at the center of Donetsk. According to my friends, even 2014 didn’t see such intense fire. But the good news was that our responsive fire is just as powerful. 
In yesterday’s commentary for Fort Russ, I wrote that the casualty figures of the Ukrainian side that were contained in the intercepted confidential report by the Ukrainian General Staff for President Poroshenko, i..e, only 78 deaths, was probably an underestimation. It is most likely that the number of Ukrainians killed in the recent firefights is no less than 100. My friends close to military circles agreed with this assessment and added that the number is probably even higher. 
Here’s the information that I’ve just received from them. 
 
Information is constantly coming in from their associates in the cities of Ukrainian-occupied Donbass and Ukraine. All the morgues in the nearby towns of Donbass controlled by the Ukrainians (Konstantinovka, Kramatorsk, Bakhmut, etc.) are littered with the corpses of UAF soldiers. The bodies are being taken to the regional centers neighboring Donbass such as Dnepropetrovsk and others. The situation with wounded is similar. Hospitals are swamped and even civilian hospitals in neighboring Ukrainian cities are packed.
Back in autumn of last year, my friends from the Lugansk People’s Republic reported that the UAF had established field hospitals along the contact line. This explicitly suggests that Ukraine was preparing for an invasion of Donbass. 
According to my friends’ assessment, the Ukrainians’ losses are colossal. It is probable that the number of dead and wounded is rising to the hundreds. The political leadership and military command of Ukraine are incapable of managing to hide such huge losses like they did back in 2014. The truth will break out and Poroshenko and the Ukrainian General Staff will be faced with the question: for what sake were hundreds and hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and officers killed?
My friends also believe that Poroshenko deliberately spoke of the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Avdeevka in order to bring up the ceasefire. In fact, the Ukrainians fear a victorious counter-offensive by the army of the Donetsk People’s Republic and a new cauldron for the Ukrainian Nazi army. 

 

The end of the Ukrainian Nazi state and the criminal Ukrainian army is near. 

Kiev fires BUK missile at OSCE observation drone; Ukraine’s lie exposed about anti-aircraft missiles when MH17 shot down (VIDEO)

Evidence indicates that MH-17 was shot down by cannon fire from UAF fighter jets. However, Kiev says any missile fired from the ground could not have come from government-controlled territory because they didn’t have such equipment there.
February 1, 2017 – Fort Russ News –
RusVesna – translated by J. Arnoldski –

NOTE from J. Arnoldski: Fort Russ guest analyst Dr. Eduard Popov has received confirmation of this report straight from Makeevka. 

Yesterday evening, January 31st, the tail section of a BUK missile launched by the Ukrainian army from the outskirts of Avdeevka fell in the residential sector of the city of Makeevka. 
The missile part fell right in the yard of a private home and caught fire.


Employees of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Donetsk People’s Republic arrived at the scene upon calls from local residents and extinguished the fire.
Russian Spring News would like to offer the following commentary:
At what target was this shot by such a Ukrainian anti-air defense complex which Ukraine has assured there are none of in the so-called Anti-Terrorist Operation zone in Donbass, and whose absence from the frontline is alleged to be the main reason why Ukraine couldn’t have shot down the Malaysian Boeing?
The target of the Ukrainian missile was a large unmanned aerial vehicle of the OSCE observatory mission which is recording Kiev’s genocide against the peaceful civilians of Donbass and is thereby seriously hindering the Ukrainian Armed Forces from executing the criminal orders of the Kiev authorities.
Let’s see how Ukraine will comment on the presence of the infamous BUK complex in the Avdeevka area which, as it has assured, there is no such thing in Donbass. 

Proof that Ukraine forces are firing artillery on residential areas today and yesterday (Jan. 31, Feb. 1)

February 1st, 2017 – Fort Russ News –
Patrick Lancaster, reporting from Donbass –

 

Today artillery was fired on the residential neighborhood of Ockobersky in the Kyivs’kyi district of Donetsk. I went to the site and investigated the direction of fire. My conclusion using all the facts available was that the shells had to have been fired from Ukraine Government controlled territory. At least 4 Apt. building were hit.

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http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/02/proof-ukraine-fired-artillery-on.html

BREAKING: Ukraine admits to offensive in Donbass, Kremlin slams Kiev for violating Minsk

February 1, 2017 – Fort Russ News –
RIA Novosti – translated by J. Arnoldski –
The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Igor Pavlovsky, admitted during a press briefing today that the Ukrainian armed forces are carrying out offensive operations in Donbass.
 “Today, no matter what, meter by meter, step by step and seizing the opportunity, our boys are heroically moving forward,” Pavlovsky stated while commenting on the situation in Avdeevka. 
However, the minister did not comment on questions concerning Ukraine’s observance of the Minsk Agreements, in particular the agreement on withdrawing heavy weapons from the contact line.
The Donbass militia and Ukrainian security forces have both declared that the situation in Donbass has deteriorated. Each side continues to blame the other for launching offensive actions. 
In the city of Avdeevka under Ukrainian control, where more than 30,000 people reside, a state of emergency has been declared due to shelling. 
A “difficult situation” also prevails in militia-controlled Yasinovataya and Donetsk. The Ministry of Defense of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has stated that the UAF has launched six offensive attempts over the last 24 hours, losing more than 90 men in the process.
The Kremlin believes that it is the Ukrainian side that has opted for active combat operations in the Avdeevka area.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists today: “We are dealing with provocative actions by the armed forces of Ukraine and individual groups.” Peskov drew attention to the Ukrainian army’s words “advancing meter by meter.”

 

“This de facto confirms that these are offensive operations,” Peskov emphasized. According to him, Kiev’s policy is thus undermining the Minsk Agreements. 

U.S. Congress orders review of Russian & Chinese leadership’s nuclear strike ‘survivability’

From RT
January 30, 2017

US Congress orders review of Russian & Chinese leadership’s nuclear strike ‘survivability’

Intercept report on the FBI; massive trove of documents unmask agency’s shady tactics, reveal FBI’s concern about racism in nation’s police forces

From RT

January 31, 2017

FBI ‘secret rules’ revealed: Massive trove of documents unmask agency's shady tactics

Russia to take tit-for-tat measures if MSM acts to limit RT broadcast in US – telecom watchdog

From RT

January 31, 2017
Russia to take tit-for-tat measures if MSM acts to limit RT broadcast in US – telecom watchdog

Blood bath at north front of Donbass — details; Ukrainian Army continually attacking, intending to relaunch larger war

January 31, 2017 – Fort Russ News –

– Christelle NEANT in DØNiPRESS, translated by Tom Winter –

Following yesterday’s continuous firing on the northern periphery of Donetsk and Makeyevka, which resulted in several deaths and injuries among civilians and soldiers of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), negotiations took place last night in an attempt to re-establish the ceasefire.

After confirmation from the DPR side that it had ceased firing, the Ukrainian army traitorously bombarded the territory of the republic.

At 2000 hours, after an artillery preparation, the enemy sent two platoons attacking the positions of the DPR located between Yasinovataya and Avdeyevka, with covering fire from mortar and tanks. The attackers fell in the middle of a minefield, and had three dead and five wounded. Continuing their attack despite these losses, they lost a total of at least 15 dead and 30 wounded.

As the positions of the DPR army held up well despite these losses, the enemy attempted to make a diversion by starting to massively bomb the periphery of Donetsk and Makeyevka, with among other things, weapons prohibited by the Minsk accords, i.e. artillery of 122 mm and 152 mm and mortars of 82 mm and 120 mm.

According to the intelligence services of the DPR, in view of the demoralization of the Ukrainian soldiers following the heavy losses in the Ukrainian army in the last two days, the Ukrainian command has decided to use Right-Sektor units as cannon fodder. The soldiers of the RPD recorded a strange behavior on the part of these soldiers, most certainly under the influence of drugs or intoxicated.

Following this new failure, the Ukrainian army began firing farther north in front of Debaltsevo, where fighting is also taking place.

Following this disaster, and after receiving the report of the losses in the Ukrainian army during the last 48 hours, Poroshenko returned urgently from Germany.

The DPR’s intelligence services had access to the report of the Ukrainian Chief of Staff Muzhenko, which was forwarded to the so-called Ukrainian President, concerning the actual losses of the Ukrainian army for the days of January 29 and 30.

According to information obtained there are currently in Ukrainian military morgues and hospitals:
– Selydove Morgue – 29 corpses of Ukrainian soldiers;
– Krasnoarmeysk Morgue – 41 corpses Ukrainian soldiers;
– Chasov Yar Mobile Military Hospital No. 65 – 62 wounded soldiers;
– Mobile Mobile Hospital No. 66 mobile of Novyi Trud – 8 dead and 14 wounded soldiers
Total: 78 dead and 76 wounded

To this must be added the losses of Right Sektor last night in Adveyevka, ie more than 15 dead and 30 injured … A total current (which is still likely to be revised upwards), 93 deaths and 106 Injured on the Ukrainian side.

Despite this bloodbath, today from 4 am, after an artillery preparation, the enemy continued its attacks in the industrial zone of Avdeevka. With three platoons they tried to circumvent the positions of the army of the DPR by the flank. The DPR army returned fire to contain the enemy.

Following the bombing of Donetsk, Gorlovka, Yasinovataya and Makeyevka, six houses were damaged, as at 242 Kouibycheva Street, where the roof of a 9-storey building was hit by a 122 mm shell, and a gas pipeline was damaged in Yakolevka. There are two wounded among the civilians. Rails have also been damaged near the station, and several localities or districts of Donetsk are without electricity.

The actual losses of the Ukrainian army are kept hidden from the public in order to avoid causing panic among the Ukrainian armed forces and the population. To justify such losses, Poltorak said they had advanced 10 meters when in reality they lost.

On the side of the army of the DPR we had 4 dead and 7 wounded during the attacks on the positions located between Yasinovataya and Avdeyevka.

In order to allow the repair work, the DPR proposed to establish a ceasefire, which it already respects, to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. But this morning, new shots hit Donetsk, cutting off electricity from the Zasyadko mine and blocking 203 miners underground. The miners are being evacuated.

At the same time, the reconnaissance units of the DPR;; army saw right Sector units firing multiple Grad rocket launchers at positions of the regular Ukrainian army, causing panic in their ranks. The goal is of course to accuse the army of the RPD of being responsible for these shots.

And at 1120 hours the Ukrainian army fired 120 Grad rockets at Yasinovataya and its periphery, in addition to 120 mm mortars, and 152 mm artillery. And an hour earlier, the Ukrainian armed forces tried to break through the lines of the DPR in the South near Kominternovo. The units of the 36th Marine Brigade and Right Sector had 14 dead and dozens of wounded, and retired in disaster.

As we can see in spite of the hecatomb, the Ukrainian authorities are determined to carry out to the end their suicidal logic with war to excuse their real problems. The specter of large-scale war, as the inhabitants of Donbass faced it in 2014, is back …

http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/01/blood-bath-at-north-front-of-donbass.html

“Stop Poroshenko” – Donbass parliaments appeal to Trump, Putin, Merkel

From Fort Russ

January 31, 2017 – Fort Russ –
RIA Novosti – translated by J. Arnoldski –
Vladimir Degtyarenko and Denish Pushilin, the chairmen of the People’s Councils (parliaments) of the self-declared Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to “stop Prooshenko.” 
As the Lugansk Information Center reports, the DPR and LPR urge these leaders to “force Poroshenko to cease his criminal actions against the people of Donbass,” stop shelling civilians, and end the economic blockade. 
“This must be done before it is too late! Before ecological and humanitarian catastrophe grips our land, stop this big mess! Stop Poroshenko! Save the people of Donbass!,” the appeal reads.
Earlier today, Donbass militiamen and Ukrainian security forces announced that the situation in Donbass has worsened. Both sides of the conflict blame each other for the increasing intensity of attacks and offensive attempts. The situation is close to a humanitarian catastrophe. The residents of Avdeevka have been left without water, light, and heat due to shelling. 
On Tuesday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine twice attempted to break through the positions of the Donbass militia. As a result, the DPR’s Ministry of Defense reported, more than 25 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. 

 

The Kremlin has stated that Moscow is concerned by Kiev’s aggressive actions in Donbass which are undermining the Minsk Agreements. Russian Presidential Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Russia has reliable information that the attack near Avdeevka was started by “independent Ukrainian brigades” supported by the Ukrainian armed forces. 

Poroshenko cuts Germany trip amid fighting in Eastern Ukraine – his political ploy

From South Front

January 31, 2017

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has cut a working visit to Germany amid the increased fighting between pro-Kiev forces and local militias in the region of Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

Heavy clashes and artillery duels in the area have been reported since January 28, inflicting casualties on the warring sides and to the infrastructure in the areas south and southeast of Donetsk, a capital of of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

A spokesman for the Ukrainian President said that the situation around the Kiev-controlled settlement of Avdeevka “an emergency situation verging on a humanitarian disaster,” ignoring that a large scale-attak on DPR forces launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and pro-Kiev paramilitary groups was launched from this direction.

Poroshenko’s working visit to Germany was clearly synchronized with the advance of pro-Kiev forces in Donbass. Thus, the only reason of the move was to come in focus of the mainstream media and to blame DPR forces and Russia for an alleged violation of the international agreements.

The Poroshenko regime urgently needs to attract attention of foreign players to itself and to get their assistance amid the ongoing political and economical crisis in Ukraine.

Considering that, the Kiev regime has repeatedly show that it’s ready to violate any international, humanitarian and moral norms to achieve own political goals, there are little doubts that the observed escalation was a planned act.

https://southfront.org/poroshenko-cuts-germany-trip-amid-fighting-eastern-ukraine-need-know/

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