NSC News & Analysis Center briefing at 17:00 July 9, 2014

Andriy Lysenko, spokesperson for the NSC News & Analysis Center, reported at the Center’s evening briefing, July 9, 2014, that Ukrainian artillery units once distinguished themselves by successfully shooting at disguised militant targets. Around noon near the village of Dmytrivka in Donetsk Oblast, the consolidated battery of the separate mechanized brigade launched a targeted artillery against a previously scouted terrorist position. As a result of the successful attack, two BM-21 Grad launchers were destroyed.

Military action in the conflict zone

A special unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine damaged a hidden post of the terrorists in Sloviansk. Two truckloads of ammo and various weapons systems were taken out of there. The crates with ammunition included documents that identified the equipment as belonging to Russian military units, including the names and titles of the responsible individuals.

The border area

At 14:00 on July 9, the National Guard of Ukraine detained terrorist Andrei Levin at a checkpoint manned by them near the border town of Novoazovsk in Donetsk Oblast. Levin is the assistant and “right hand” of the warlord of a group of militants who is nicknamed Chechen. The criminal was trying to leave the territory of Ukraine but was detained by National Guardsmen. At the moment, authorized agencies are handling such detained terrorists.

Population centers in the conflict zone

Efforts to restore normal services and infrastructure in Sloviansk continue. Suburban trains are running again and the railway station is working. The building itself was slightly damaged, mostly in the form of broken windows. The rail line damaged by saboteurs will be repaired as soon as possible and connections to all the designated directions will resume. MIA and National Guard units are currently patrolling the streets and outskirts of the city to monitor any groups of saboteurs and to ensure the safety of local residents.

Meanwhile, the terrorists continue their marauding. On July 9, they stole 30 service and confiscated cars whose plates were changed from the premises of the Lugansk Customs Service. Outside the village of Biryukove in Sverdlovsk County, Luhansk Oblast, 70 terrorists drove into the summer cottage territory belonging to the #66 Mine on GAZ 66 model cars and Gazelle minivans, and took over the buildings. They also seized the main county hospital in Stanychno-Luhanske, Luhansk Oblast, and drove all the medical staff out. Local residents now have no way to get urgent medical assistance.

In the town of Popasna in Luhansk Oblast in the Railcar Repair Plant micro-district, terrorists set up shop in the Prosecutor’s Office. In the Cheriomushky microdistrict, militants searched local residents’ apartments and forced them to leave their homes, and have begun turning the premises into firing positions. Engineering intelligence from the Ukrainian military reported that the entrances to the town from the directions of Artemivsk and Troitsk have been mined, and also warned local residents about this.

On July 9, near Luhansk, two Ukrainian servicemen died during a mortar attack at their checkpoint. A journalist from the Inter channel, Roman Bochkala, was also seriously injured while filing a live report at the site. Bochkala was evacuated by helicopter to the Kharkiv Military Hospital. He was taken into the emergency department for treatment and is currently in satisfactory condition. We hope that our colleague will soon be able to continue providing us with new material from hot points again.

Ukraine Front Lines