Tag: Donbass Battalion

Dmitry Tymchuk: Regarding the armed fight involving the Donbas Battalion on May 23 near Karlivka

Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

 

Using different sources and having coordinated the information received with the leadership of the Donbass Battalion, we, the Information Resistance group, have reconstructed the chain of events that received a great public outcry.

[Here’s the chain of events] in general, omitting the details.

10 to 15 minutes after the start of the military engagement, the personnel of the Donbass Battalion realized that it was in a carefully organized ambush. The locations of enemy firing positions were carefully considered, the sniper work indicated their high level of professional training.

The high level of organization of the ambush in an area where the activity of the ATO forces had not been noted before, suggests that the terrorists received information about the movement of the Donbass Battalion in advance.

Shortly after the start of the fight, the terrorist reinforcement arrived. According to our data, a little earlier a motorcade with armed men (judging by appearance–from the Caucasus) left Donetsk and moved towards the scene.

Reinforcements were armed with assault rifles of the AK-100 series (which is in service with the Russian army, while the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other legitimate armed forces of Ukraine do not have such weapons) and PK machine guns, at least one of them has been identified as a NSV-12.7 caliber heavy machine gun “the Rock.” Terrorists also used RGN grenades with a fuse (intermediary detonator) DPU (“shock remote fuse”)–which are used by the Russian army.

Appeals from the Donbass Battalion to the ATO leadership didn’t bring any results. There were promises to send the armored vehicles and rescue aircraft, but ultimately no assistance was given.

Also (this includes our efforts) the commanders of almost all the law enforcement agencies were informed about the events occurring near Karlivka, which participated in the ATO. It likewise, had no effect.

At the same time, we have evidence that one of the units of the Armed Forces in the area of ​​the ATO team received orders to advance towards Karlivka and assist the Donbass Battalion. For unknown reasons, this order wasn’t carried out. Currently, we are carefully checking this information.

Ultimately, the Donbass Battalion fought in a battle that lasted 4.5 hours, alone. The personnel of the Battalion suffered casualties. Battalion fighters have identified that at least 15 terrorists were destroyed.

According to available information, the Battalion left the environs on its own: without any outside help received–either from the ATO forces, or from other forces.

Dmitry Tymchuk’s Military Blog: Summary – May 23, 2014

Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

The bad news:

1. The volunteer “Donbass Battalion” [DB] was ambushed near the village of Karlivka in Donetsk Region.

The terrorists were armed to the teeth, and had an APC at their disposal. The majority of the [DB] fighters managed to break through the ambush, some of them remained surrounded. Later, the insurgent commander Bezler told the Donbass Battalion commander S. Semenchenko that the captured fighters had been killed.

Since the very morning, we’ve been trying to do everything in our power to get help to these guys who spent long hours in fight. We pulled everyone we could. But nothing was achieved. I haven’t heard a single intelligible word explaning why our guys were betrayed.

If this is not betrayal, then I don’t know what a betrayal is.

We realize that our crowd of great military commanders in the rank of generals dislike “Donbass” for its independence. The generals consider it to be uncontrollable.

I agree with the logic of the generals: in a single operation, all forces and means should be subordinate to a single leadership and a unified plan. But this is in those cases where there is a single leadership. In the ATO [anti-terrorist operation], we just don’t see it.

Instead, we see that a handful of “uncontrollable” volunteers operate more efficiently than our famous “strategists,” who have on the generals’ stripes and have troops under their command.

We, the IR group, don’t intend to put a dot over the “i.” Too much blood is being spilled by our children, and too often it “appears” that it’s not anyone’s personal guilt. This is not right.

2. The head of the terrorist organization “People’s Republic of Luhansk” V. Bolotov promised terrorist acts during the [Presidential] elections. In this regard, he urged the people in the region not to go to the polls.

Although, according to Bolotov, the National Guard will be the one organizing the terrorist acts. He said so as to blame it on terrorists later.

This Kremlin’s snitch that arrived recently from Russia after the briefing in the Kremlin, doesn’t have enough brains to explain the simplest fact: why on earth would Kiev undermine the elections with terrorist acts, since getting a legitimate President is its main goal today?

At the same time, Bolotov’s announcement means that he and his accomplices are ready to kill anything and anyone to reach their criminal goals.

3. Today the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces announced that Russian troops deployed at Ukrainian borders are being withdrawn. But this process will be fully completed no earlier than June 8. What prevents them from moving the tanks earlier? Russian agressors don’t offer any explanations.

This morning, we recorded a decrease in the number of Russian troops by 3,000-4,000 people (compared to May 8). This is a drop in the ocean.

This means that the Presidential elections in Ukraine will be held in the same mode, under the threat of Russian invasion. We shouldn’t expect that we would be able to free up our troops from the defense line along the eastern border and reinforce the security forces during elections in Donbass.

The good news:

1. Russia will respect the results of the Presidential elections in Ukraine and will cooperate with government authorities formed after the elections.

Obviously this is all a game. On the other hand, Russian troops are at the borner, on the other hand–[Russia’s] readiness to acknowledge the elections. It looks as if the Kremlin is playing for the West rather than seeking a dialogue with Kiev.

But such glimpses of sound mind from the mouths of those who only yesterday elucidated a great-power nonsense–it’s already something.

2. Today, the last bell holiday [to commemorate the end of school year] at Lesya Ukrayinka gymnasium [high school] #5 took place in Sevastopol. Graduates and their teachers, in protest against the occupation of the [Crimean] peninsula by Russia, came to school wearing vyshyshankys [traditional embroidered shirts].

This is the lesson of courage from children and teachers, which would be useful and instructive for many of our military leaders.

3. The Russian Minister of Transport M. Sokolov announced that the capacity of Crimean ports doesn’t allow for talking about their large-scale application and development.

He has kept mum about the true reasons of course. Namely–about the fact that the Crimean ports were previously geared towards the flow of goods from Turkey, as well as other countries in the area. Since the occupation, Halva is no longer available. Russia is unable to provide the loading ports at the occupied peninsula. As a result, the closure of ports as budget-creating enterprises in the region and thousands of the unemployed.

There’s obviously little good in this process, since regular people suffer in Crimea. But this is one of the hundreds of reasons for Ukraine to start working on getting back the ARC [Autonomous Republic of Crimea]. To work in a way Russia worked for many years–explain, persuade, and eventually hold a brilliant special op.

The difference is that Russia stole someone else’s [territory]. We will have to reclaim ours.