Contents tagged with ATO

  • Ukrainian Security Service officer defects to Russia

    A self-professed “renegade from the Security Service of Ukraine” (SBU) named Vasyl Prozorov has shown up in Moscow, speaking at a press conference organized by the government news agency Rossiya Segodnya on Monday 25 March, the date on which Ukraine honors its security service.

    “My name is Prozorov Vasyl Nikolayevich. Between 1999 and 2018 I was an employee of the SBU. As of May 2014, I worked in the Central Apparatus, specifically in the headquarters of the SBU’s Anti-Terrorist Center. As of …

  • Ukraine starts the Operation of Joint Forces in the Donbas

    The Anti-terrorist Operation (ATO) officially ended and the Operation of Joint Forces or OJF has begun on April 30. The change in format was mandated by the law for the reintegration of the Donbas.

    From now on, all powers to regulate the situation in a war zone in the east of Ukraine are conferred on the Joint Operational Headquarters instead of the ATO headquarters. The press-service of the ATO headquarters announced the termination of the operation and thanked journalists for their …

  • Ukrainian activist: Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted heavy damage on pro-Russian militants near Svitlodarsk

    In the Svitlodarsk salient in the Donbass, Ukrainian military destroyed the so-called Furunkul reinforced position of the separatists and "thinned the troops of the invaders,” Ukrainian volunteer Yuriy Mysyagin reported on Facebook.

    According to him, "terrorists and admirers of the ‘Russian world’ in the Donbas" are in dire straits, especially with several internal problems to deal with. "They also suffer serious losses in military equipment and manpower because of their provocative actions," …

  • Ukrainian military command: pro-Russian militants shelled Dokuchaievsk

    Dokuchaievsk, which is not under Ukrainian control, was bombarded with heavy weapons, most likely 82-mm mortars, by militants, as reported by the press center of the Ukrainian military command in the Donbas.

    "According to unconfirmed reports, as a result of the shelling, there are casualties among local civilians," the report of the Ukrainian military reads.

    The press-service mentioned that Ukrainian solders near Novotroitske noticed that during the shelling of Ukrainian positions from 82-mm …

  • Ukrainian military capture separatist fighter during fight near Shyrokyne

    The Ukrainian Armed Forces detected and engaged into fight with a subversive armed group of pro-Russian separatists near the town of Shyrokyne, the press service of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed forces reported.

    According to the press service, Ukrainian military managed to capture one fighter of the subversive group.

    “In the area of Shyrokyne, Ukrainian defenders detected a subversive group moving towards their positions. When the distance became critical, our soldiers opened fire …

  • Ukrainian military shot down third Russian drone since the beginning of ceasefire in the Donbas

    Since December 23, when the New Year-Christmas ceasefire in the Donbas began, Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense units have shot down third enemy drone, the press center of the headquarters of the Ukrainian Military in Donbas reports.

    "In the area of the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation), the air defense unit shot down a Russian-made Orlan-10 UAV. Since the beginning of the ceasefire (December 23), this is the third downed UAV of this type," the report said.

    It was noted that Orlan-10 is an …

  • Ukrainian Presidential advisor: some soldiers freed from separatist captivity in Donbas suspected of desertion

    According to Ukrainian Presidential Advisor, Yurii Biriukov, 14 of the 73 freed prisoners of war were suspected of being deserters as indicated on Facebook. The soldiers suspected of desertion will not be able to access financial compensation until a court hands down a verdict.

    This came after veterans of the antiterrorist operation [the armed conflict between government troops and Russian-backed separatist forces in Donbas] became frustrated when recognizing deserters among the soldiers who …

  • Ukrainian military command denies liberation of two villages in the Donbas, says the territory was always under Kyiv's control

    The settlements of Travneve and Hladosove in the Donetsk region were located on territory controlled by Ukraine and, therefore, “nobody liberated them", as stated by Vladyslav Voloshyn, an officer of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reports Hromadske.

    "Two settlements - Travneve and Hladosove - were on the territory controlled by Ukraine. They were not liberated," the officer stated.

    According to Voloshyn, the Ukrainian military was located in these settlements before the …

  • Ukraine to change the name of its military operation in the Donbas

    The bill to reintegrate the Donbas will entail the introduction of the concept “Operation on Defense of Ukraine” instead of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). This was announced by Deputy Minister for the temporarily occupied territories Yuriy Hrymchak in an interview with Radio Svoboda.

    When asked to clarify whether the word “war” would be used for the operation, he responded in the negative, explaining that the term would mean declaring war on Russia with all the corresponding consequences. …

  • Ministry of Defence: Russia’s military aggression in Eastern Ukraine continues

    Pro-Russian separatists committed 173 breaches of ceasefire agreement in one week, as reported by Andrew Liashenko, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, in his weekly update for the period of August the 28th to September the 3rd. Liashenko specified that 18 out of those 173 violations were committed “with the use of heavy weaponry”.

    The geographical breakdown of incidents of separatists opening fire at the Ukrainian armed forces was reported as follows:

    108 in the Donetsk …