3 Ukrainian Soldiers, 1 Civilian Injured; Russia-Backed Militants Resume Shelling on Stanitsa Luganskaya

Attacks on the Mariupol line intensified in the last day, Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanik, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman for ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation] issues reported at his briefing today.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in battle; and a third was injured when his truck ran over a mine. A civilian man was also hurt in a grenade explosion in Maryinka when he opened up the door of his friend’s home, which had been mined by militants. He was taken to the hospital in Kurakhovo.

Russia-backed militants fired more than 40 artillery rounds, mainly between 8:00 am and noon, said Col. Motuzyanik. Ukrainian forces and militants clashed between the towns of Slavnoye and Yelenovka; a sniper was active in Novotroitskoye. There was also a gun battle between Ukrainian forces and separatists in Maryinka.

On the Donetsk line, there were attacks on Mayorsk, Avdeyevka and Opytnoye. On the Luganskoye line, there was firing on Orekhovo, the Bakhmutka Highway and Popasnaya using mortar-launchers. 

Militants also resumed firing on Stanitsa Luganskaya on Sunday evening at 21:40, after a day of quiet, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing Yury Zolkin, the regional administrator who spoke on TV 112.

Zolkin said that for about three hours, Ukrainian positions near Lobachevo, the right flank of the Stanitsa Luganskoye area, were shelled. 

Thus once again, a withdrawal of forces and equipment in the Stanitsa Luganskaya area, planned for November 26, was postponed. A representative of the Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Command and Control said that the reason for the delay was shelling by Russia-backed militants, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

o Town Without Water 5 Days Now

The ATO reported that the town of Toretsk is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster as the water main damaged in shelling by Russia-backed fighters on November 23 still has not been able to be accessed for repairs, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The water main affected ran between Gorlovka and Toretsk. Due to lack of water, day care centers and schools have been closed and some neighborhoods are without heat. Utility workers are prepared to come in to repair the line, but they have yet to receive assurances of safety.

The Emergencies Ministry in Donetsk Region has been trucking in drinking water and portable heaters.

o 2 Independent Russian Journalists Detained, Released by Russia-Backed Separatists

Two journalists from Russia’s independent station TV Rain detained November 25 by intelligence officers of the self-declared “Donetsk People’s Republic” were eventually released November 26, TV Rain and InfoResist.org reported.

Sergei Yerzhenkov and Vasily Polonsky traveled to Donetsk to report on the situation there. They were detained on November 25 when agents of the DNR “Ministry of State Security” came to the apartment where they were staying and drove them to the Ministry’s building to interrogate them. The agents confiscated their video cameras and reviewed all their footage, and also blocked their laptops from Internet connections. They further broke Yerzhenkov’s telephone.

The DNR agents didn’t use force when interrogating the journalists; “they abused us psychologically, no more than that,” said Polonsky. The DNR claimed that the journalists had “non-objectively and provocatively” covered events in the DNR and had provided “false information” — an incorrect phone number — when they had obtained accreditation, which the DNR requires of journalists who come into the territory they control. Polonsky indicated that he had provided the correct phone number. The pair were released today and allowed to return to Rostov; they provided an interview on TV Rain about their experiences today.

 — Catherine A. Fitzpatrick