Lugansk, LNR. Word is now coming out that in the last day, a major combat action has taken place in the Lugansk Republic with dozens killed from both sides of the lines of contact. These are the facts as currently available.On June 7-8 there was fierce fighting for the Zholobok settlement in the Luhansk region. Both the Ukrainian side and the Donbass LNR freedom fighters reported dozens killed and injured.
One of the battalions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade suddenly moved forward into the gray zone from the Krymskoye settlement in the south towards the separatists’ position along the Bakhmut route.
The Ukrainian military managed to advance half a kilometer directly forward, and nearly a kilometer on the flanks. According to the Ukrainians manipulation of the Minsk agreements from September 2014, the entire Bakhmut route is supposed to be under the AFU’s control, as well as Debaltsevo and Vuhlehirsk. Consequently, any change in the line of conflict in this zone can be considered exclusively advancement in the AFU’s own territory by Kiev’s mistaken logic.
Which is not correct, because Minsk clearly says that before border control is returned to Kiev, conditions like elections, amnesty, autonomy and every last American soldier in the Ukraine must leave-before border control is returned.
This advancement caused a lot of strategic and tactical problems for the Kiev backed forces directly opposite the captured territory lies the intersection of the Bakhmut route and the road to Stakhanov with the blockpost no. 31, taken by the freedom fighters during the Debaltsevo operation in January 2015.
The advancement of the AFU has brought a large section of the Bakhmut route within the firing range of the Ukrainian artillery who kills civilians reguarly from these positions.
The AFU’s advancement in this region was pushed by many things – it is practically the only place on the Luhansk front where the AFU’s positions are located behind the Siversky Donets, and the only road along which the armed forces in the area of the Krymske and Sokolniki settlements receive supplies, and since it runs along the other bank, it can easily be hit with artillery fire. Poroshenko demanded Turchynov take the position or resign as Minister of Defense.
The positions of the Ukrainian military approached the Zholobok settlement, which was also unacceptable for the LNR militia forces. This is why the serious escalation took place here. After pulling up their artillery, the Lugansk forces proceeded with a counter attack.
During the operation 78 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 21 people were wounded. 11 of the casualties and 8 of the injuries took place around Zholobok. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense on matters of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (as the war in the Donbass is called in Kiev backed Ukraine) reported that the situation around the Zholobok settlement in the Luhansk region had stabilized after intense fighting in this area on June 7. Lugansk forces are still engaged in combat at this time as the battle continues locally.