Terrorists, Kremlin-linked official say Russia supplied arms, hardware
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Concorde Capital – July 9, 2014) Terrorists with the Donetsk People’s Republic acknowledged that they received weapons and military hardware from Russia in a video released on the Internet on July 8 in which they discuss this support with Sergei Kurginian, a Kremlin propaganda chief, as identified by the Ukrayinska Pravda news site. The terrorist lead…
Terrorists with the Donetsk People’s Republic acknowledged that they received weapons and military hardware from Russia in a video released on the Internet on July 8 in which they discuss this support with Sergei Kurginian, a Kremlin propaganda chief, as identified by the Ukrayinska Pravda news site. The terrorist leaders complained they didn’t receive adequate weapons and hardware, while Kurginian said that such support had been adequate, though he acknowledged it’s been lacking in certain areas. In the video, Kurginian insists that the weapons and hardware was supplied “by the Russian citizenry, not the government.” He said, “My task is to convince the Russian citizenry that you’re supposed to have a lot of Fagot anti-tank rocket systems, a lot of Kornet anti-tank rocket systems, a lot of Igla handheld anti-aircraft rocket systems, and of course, you’re supposed to receive not that type of automatic weapons that you have now. I think we’ll help with weapons, and there’ll be that hardware I mentioned and the equipment you need.”
The Ukrainian government’s anti-terrorist operation has succeeded in reducing in half the territory controlled by the pro-Russian terrorists since its launch in mid-April, reported on July 8 Andriy Lysenko, the spokesman of the information center of the National Security and Defense Council. The plan of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko calls upon the operation to destroy terrorists’ training bases, centers and roadblocks; renew control of the state border; and isolate the conflict zone. Ukrainian soldiers are making particular effort to ensure the safety of civilians and avoid inflicting civilian casualties. Yet the terrorists are continuing to engage in attacks and sabotage, he said, including 12 armed attacks in the last 24 hours against roadblocks and positions controlled by Ukrainian fighters, including ongoing attacks on the Luhansk airfield. No Ukrainian soldiers were killed.
Zenon Zawada: The release of the video featuring the terrorist leaders and Kurginian was clearly planned, perhaps intended to replenish confidence among the armed separatist forces with the hope that they’ll be getting more support. Yet we don’t think such verbal assurances will be enough to motivate the demoralized terrorists, who have been significantly hurt by the loss of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. The Ukrainian forces have the upperhand and momentum and now it’s a matter of properly executing the defeat of the terrorists while inflicting minimal damage and casualties.