Ukraine Announces a Growing List of Casualties From Debaltseve Retreat

[bemildred]

Source: NYT

MOSCOW — The Ukrainian military on Thursday said that the casualties in Debaltseve were substantially worse than initially announced, with at least 13 soldiers killed, 157 wounded, more than 90 captured and at least 82 missing. Witnesses said the number of dead would likely grow considerably higher.

Late Wednesday, the office of President Petro O. Poroshenko had said that at least six soldiers had been killed and 100 wounded in the hurried retreat from Debaltseve, a strategically important junction in eastern Ukraine, now firmly in the hands of pro-Russian rebels. The town fell after several days of intense fighting that continued after a cease-fire was to have taken effect at midnight Saturday.

In a statement defending his decision to order the withdrawal, Mr. Poroshenko said that 2,475 soldiers were safely pulled out, along with 200 military vehicles. Late Wednesday, Mr. Poroshenko urged the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force — an idea swiftly rejected by Russia.

The Ukrainian military said it had appealed to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for help in locating the missing soldiers.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/world/europe/leaders-speak-by-telephone-to-try-to-impose-ukraine-cease-fire.html

[bemildred]

1. Ukraine suspends gas supply to its eastern regions - Naftogaz

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine has suspended supplies of gas to its eastern regions because the gas network was damaged by fighting between pro-Russian separatists and government forces, Ukrainian state gas firm Naftogaz said on Thursday.

"Due to the extensive damage of the gas transport networks, the supply of gas ... was suspended on Feb. 18. The resumption of gas supplies is not yet possible because of the ongoing hostilities in the region," the company said in a statement. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/ukraine-crisis-gas-idUKL5N0VT3LI20150219?rpc=401

[bemildred]

2. Russia's Gazprom says starts direct gas supplies to eastern Ukraine

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Russia's top natural gas producer Gazprom said on Thursday it had started direct gas supplies to rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine.

Gazprom's Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said gas deliveries via the Prokhorovka and Platovo pumping stations on the border with east Ukraine were reaching 12 million cubic metres of gas per day. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Denis Pinchuk, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/ukraine-crisis-russia-gazprom-idUSR4N0T102J20150219?rpc=401

[bemildred]

3. Official: Ukraine's Self-Proclaimed Donetsk Republic Switches to Russian Gas

TEHRAN (FNA)- Ukraine’s Eastern self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has switched to using Russian gas supplies starting today, the republic’s parliamentary speaker said on Thursday.

"From now on, the republic will use Russian gas," Andrey Purgin was quoted by the republic’s press center as saying, adding that gas flows were redirected to other pipelines on Wednesday night, Itar-Tass reported.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931130000511

[Igel]

19. Yes, but Interfax is saying something additional.

For all the independence and hatred of the Kievan government, the DNR and LNR are still attached to its teat and insist on being attached: The Russians will bill Naftogaz for the gas sent to those whose word means nothing and openly hate and bite the hand that they insist feed them.

Gotta be nice: "You will pay for us as we kill your people and destroy your economy. It's our right as Russians, and your obligations and lesser people."

[bemildred]

4. Russia, rebels attack Ukraine’s call for peacekeepers

A plea from Ukraine for international peacekeepers to enforce a shattered ceasefire in the east ran into strident opposition Thursday from pro-Russian rebels and Moscow.

They argued the appeal, made late Wednesday by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, sought to “destroy” the UN-backed truce agreed under European mediation last week in the Belarus capital Minsk.

But four days after coming into effect, that truce was already in tatters.

This week, the rebels ignored it to storm a strategic town they had surrounded, Debaltseve, forcing thousands of government troops there to flee.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/international/2015/February/international_February448.xml&section=international

[bemildred]

5. Pro-Russian separatist “not opposed” to UN peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine

Pro-Russian separatists in the disputed eastern Ukraine region say they are not opposed to the idea of UN mandated peacekeepers.

The Deputy Defence Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Eduard Basurin, was speaking at a news conference at which Ukrainian prisoners of war were paraded before the cameras:

“With regard to peacekeepers..at the very beginning when this whole conflict started we said to the Russian Federation and the UN Security Council, that the idea could be looked into, and peacekeepers sent here. We were told ‘no’ at that time. So if they want to send peacekeepers we are not against it, let them send them.”

http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/19/pro-russian-separatist-not-opposed-to-un-peacekeepers-in-eastern-ukraine/

[bemildred]

8. Russia dismisses Kiev's calls for UN peacekeepers in east Ukraine

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry dismissed Ukraine's calls for U.N. peacekeepers to monitor a ceasefire in east Ukraine on Thursday, saying the Minsk agreement should remain the basis for the conflict's resolution.

Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a news conference Kiev was responsible for making sure the Minsk agreements were carried out. (Reporting by Thomas Grove, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

http://www.trust.org/item/20150219122510-odncm/

[Fred Sanders]

11. Too bad Poroshenko "forgot" , in the ceasefire deal, to include the surrounded forces in Debaltseve. The rebels let them go.

[KingCharlemagne]

17. The CandyMan left his forces to twist and dangle in the wind. That's some

leadership, by God!

[Igel]

21. Not so the Can of Poo.

He handily supplied his boys with lots of toys.

Still are: A bunch of weapons in support of the continued ceasefire headed towards the NE part of Luhans'k recently, just to show how much the Poo-Tin loves peace.

They keep their deals like Yanuk. "How do you know a Russian's a liar?" "Trick question, they're synonyms."

[Igel]

20. They weren't surrounded at the time.

Small detail.

Oddly, usually when forces are surrounded, though, there are still enemy lines. That's the minor difference between "surrounded" and "overrun."

[KingCharlemagne]

24. Uh, yeah they were surrounded in all meaningful senses of the word. The NAF forces controlled

ingress and egress into Debaltseve, except for the major highway which was subject to NAF artillery enfilade.

Here's an article from Feb 2 reporting the effective encirclement:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Debaltseve-Encirclemen-by-George-Eliason-Government_Ukrainian-Fascists_Ukrainian-Uprising-150201-490.html

[bemildred]

23. Russia will block U.N. peace mission in Ukraine - Czech minister

Czech Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky (ANO) would support considering Czech soldiers´ involvement in a peacekeeping mission if the U.N. turned to the member countries.

"I believe that any U.N. peacekeeping forces would not make it through at the moment," Zaoralek told public Czech Television (CT).

The stationing of peacekeeping forces in Donbas is opposed by Russia that has the right to veto being a U.N. Security Council standing member.

Zaoralek said he is convinced that Russia will make use of the right, which it is already indicating.

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/russia-will-block-u-n-peace-mission-in-ukraine-czech-minister/1183467?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed

[bemildred]

6. Leaders agree to stick to Ukraine peace accord

Berlin/Kiev (dpa) - The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine said Thursday they would stick to the Ukraine peace agreement signed last week in Minsk despite a "serious ceasefire violation" in Debaltseve, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office said.

The four leaders agreed during a phone call to "rigorously implement" the accord with monitoring help from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the office of French President Francois Hollande said.

A ceasefire should first take hold "on the entire front line without exception," followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons, the Elysee said.

Merkel's office said that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to use his influence on the separatists to this end.

http://www.dpa-international.com/news/international/leaders-agree-to-stick-to-ukraine-peace-accord-a-44300463.html

[bemildred]

9. Merkel, Hollande, Poroshenko and Putin try to rescue Ukraine truce

Thursday's telephone conversation was just the lasted attempt by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande to rescue the peace accord reached a week ago in Minsk, which they spearheaded.

Following their latest conference call involving Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the four leaders called on the two parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine to fully implement the terms of the agreement.

"They agreed that to do this, immediate, concrete steps must be taken towards the comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire and a withdrawal of heavy weapons under the observation of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe], as agreed in the Minsk package of measures," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Thursday.

The office of President Hollande issued a similar statement, adding that "the breaches in the ceasefire seen in recent days were denounced."

http://www.dw.de/merkel-hollande-poroshenko-and-putin-try-to-rescue-ukraine-truce/a-18268664

[bemildred]

7. Fighting rages despite bid to revive Ukraine truce after government defeat

ARTEMIVSK/VUHLEHIRSK, Ukraine, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine on Thursday despite European efforts to resurrect a still-born ceasefire, a day after pro-Russian separatists who spurned the truce forced thousands of government troops out of a strategic town.

Western nations have refused to give up on a peace deal negotiated last week even though rebels disavowed it to seize the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve. Thousands of besieged Ukrainian troops pulled out of the town on Wednesday in one of the worst defeats for the Kiev government of a 10-month war that has killed more than 5,000 people.

European and U.S. official have expressed the hope that the ceasefire can now take effect, with rebels that are fighting for territory the Kremlin calls "New Russia" halting their advance having achieved their main objective in Debaltseve.

But artillery was still raining down near Debaltseve on Thursday, and the Ukrainian military said its troops had come under fire elsewhere from rebels.

http://www.trust.org/item/20150219124341-6bl5c/

[bemildred]

22. Ukraine fighting rages despite efforts to revive truce

Renewed fighting has occured in eastern Ukraine despite European efforts to revive a fresh ceasefire, a day after pro-Russian separatists who spurned the truce forced thousands of government troops to withdraw from the strategic town of Debaltseve.

Artillery was still raining down near Debaltseve, a railway hub, on Thursday, and the Ukrainian military said its troops had come under fire elsewhere from rebels.

Western nations have refused to give up on a peace deal negotiated last week even though rebels disavowed it to seize Debaltseve.

Thousands of besieged Ukrainian troops pulled out of the town on Wednesday in one of the worst defeats for the Kiev government of a 10-month war that has killed more than 5,000 people.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2015/02/ukraine-fighting-rages-efforts-revive-truce-150219155516241.html

[bemildred]

10. . nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. A regiment-sized force with 200 vehicles couldn't hold the town against rebels?

I mean, naturally they're actually fighting regiment-sized Russian regular army units, but still. To admit you had to withdraw in a haphazard manner with what is essentially a full regiment is, at the least, fairly embarrassing.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. It doesn't make sense unless you consider they're not just fighting "rebels" here.

Funny how quickly things turned around for the separatists roughly a month after they completely embarrassed themselves by shooting down MH17.

[bemildred]

14. I think the idea was an Alamo-like defense of Debaltseve with great losses to the Rebels.

So naturally, if Santa Ana does not attack, but chooses to cut you off and shell you incessantly, it doesn't work out well.

[blackspade]

15. Insanity.

[KingCharlemagne]

16. Updated NYTimes article\coverage of the Debaltseve Debacle:

If there was a shred of good news for Mr. Poroshenko, it was that by avoiding capture, the soldiers who made it out also avoided handing the rebels a powerful bargaining chip. But from the harrowing accounts of survivors of the retreat, that success was purchased at a terrible price.

A rebel assault that began within hours of the signing of the Minsk accord intensified on Tuesday with attacks by tanks and well-equipped infantry that quickly left most of the town under separatist control.

The order to retreat was kept secret until the last minute, and soldiers were told to prepare in 10 minutes and pile into the beds of troop transport trucks, according to Albert Sardaryen, 22, a medic who made the journey.

Unbeknown to them, preparations had been underway for days, as the military leadership searched for a means of escape other than the main road out of town, which was mined and controlled by the rebels. After sending ambulances over farmers’ fields and down back roads without attracting notice, they had their route.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/world/europe/ukraine-conflict-debaltseve.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&hpw&rref=world

[bemildred]

18. +1. nt

[uhnope]

25. ...