Ukraine Day 979: LIVE UPDATES BELOW.
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An Invasion By Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine
The Ukrainian military reported on Sunday that there were 33 ceasefire violations conducted by the Russia-backed militants in the Donbass. According to Unian.info, the heaviest fighting was in the Mariupol sector, near the coast of the Black Sea:
In the Mariupol sector, the occupiers violated the ceasefire regime 22 times. They fired 82mm and 120mm mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and small arms on the Ukrainian fortified positions near the town of Maryinka and Krasnohorivka. In Pavlopil, militants fired 152mm cannon artillery and mortars of both calibers. A sniper was active near the villages of Talakivka, Hnutove and Shyrokyne.
Russian proxies attack Ukraine 33 times in last day
In the Mariupol sector, the occupiers violated the ceasefire regime 22 times. They fired 82mm and 120mm mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and small arms on the Ukrainian fortified positions near the town of Maryinka and Krasnohorivka. In Pavlopil, militants fired 152mm cannon artillery and mortars of both calibers.
Meanwhile the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) reports that it continues to be blocked by the Russia-backed militants in its efforts to inspect the ceasefire and troop withdrawal:
“Only limited access for OSCE SMM to Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area – UAF, “LPR” have failed to guarantee SMM’s security [possible mines],” the OSCE SMM wrote on Facebook. “SMM is ready/able to monitor, but needs access. JCCC should assist in ensuring safe and unhindered access for SMM, co-ordinate demining,” the report says.
OSCE reports access denial in Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area
"Only limited access for OSCE SMM to Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area – UAF, "LPR" have failed to guarantee SMM's security [possible mines]," the OSCE SMM wrote on Facebook. "SMM is ready/able to monitor, but needs access. JCCC should assist in ensuring safe and unhindered access for SMM, co-ordinate demining," the report says.
Meanwhile, six Ukrainians have reportedly been arrested by Russian forces in Transdniester, the breakaway region of Moldova that shares Ukraine’s southwestern border. The area is still home to a Russian military peacekeeping operation, despite the fact that the Moldovan government has requested the troops leave and the conflict that Russia deployed its troops there to prevent is long over. Ukraine Today reports that the Ukrainian government denies that they have a connection to the six individuals who were detained:
The spokesman of Ukraine’s State Border Service Oleh Slobodian told Hromadske Radio that the detainees didn’t hold any surveillance.
“Citizen Maliuta has nothing to do with a military service or State Border service. He worked period-to-period as a fireman in one of the (Border Service) departments”, the press secretary explained.
“They were arrested somewhere near Ukraine’s borderline and were transferred to Russian military representatives in the Transnistrian part of Moldova as military persons conducting a surveillance”, Slobodian added.
6 Ukrainians arrested in Transnistria for alleged military surveillance
A Russian soldier walks from the border checkpoint from Transnistria to Moldova. March 10, 2015 in Corcieri, near Chisinau, Moldova. The village is located on the border with Transnistria (Getty Images) Ukraine's Border Service: The detainees have nothing to do with military service and couldn't conduct surveillance "The State Security Committee" (SSC) of separatist Transnistria has claimed about arresting 6 citizens of Ukraine for alleged spying, among them one employee of Ukraine's State Border Service.