2 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed, 3 Wounded in Last 2 Days; 1 Separatist Soldier Killed, 1 Civilian

June 16, 2017
A home in the Mariupol area struck by Russia-backed forces with Grad missiles. Photo by MRPL

Ukraine Day 1215: LIVE UPDATES BELOW. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and three wounded in battle in the last 2 days; 1 separatist soldier and 1 civilian were killed as well.

Yesterday’s coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here.

An Invasion By Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine

 


2 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed, 3 Wounded in Last 2 Days; 1 Separatist Soldier Killed, 1 Civilian

Ukrainian soldiers at the front line. Photo by Unian 

One Ukrainian soldier was killed in battle today, and there were 18 attacks by Russia-backed forces, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing the Anti-Terrorist Operation [ATO]. In the morning dispatch, the ATO reported that one Ukrainian soldier was killed and 3 wounded, bringing the total to two killed and three wounded in the last 2 days. In the previous reporting period, there were 67 attacks on Ukrainian positions.

On the Donetsk line, Avdeyevka remained a focus of shell fire with 120-mm mortar-launchers. Kamenka was struck by heavy machine guns. Grenade-launchers were fired on the outskirts of Donetsk, including on Peski.
On the Maritime line, 120-mm mortars were fired on Ukrainian positions near Bogdanovka; Krasnogorovka was hit by 82-mm mortars, anti-tank grenades and machine guns. Shirokino, Vodyanoye, Pavlopol and Chermalyk were attacked with grenade-launchers and small arms.On 
On the Lugansk line there were less attacks today. Grenade-launchers and heavy machine guns were fired on Novotoshkovskoye; a sniper was active in the region. Near Krymskoye, an anti-tank missile system was used.
DAN-Info, the separatist news service said four civilians had been killed and five wounded in the last week due to Ukrainian shell fire.
According to DAN-Info, two were reported killed in Trudovskiye in the Petrovsky District of Donetsk as we noted; one woman was killed by a sniper in Sakhanka and one soldier was killed.
Eduard Basurin, self-styled military commander of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said the five civilians were wounded in Petrovsky and Kievsky Districts and also Gorlovka.
Mrpl.city, a Mariupol city news site, published photos of Grad missile attacks in the region by Russia-backed forces. A number of homes have been destroyed.
Other News:
o Suspect Arrested in Assassination of Russian MP Denis Voronenkov
Yaroslav Tarasenko, a local right-wing activist in Pavlograd, was arrested, TSN reported, citing his wife Nadezhda.
She said it was possible he had been acquainted with Pavel Parshov, the assassin of Voronenkov who was shot dead at the scene of his murder by his body guard. Police are still looking for Yaroslav Leventsov, who was said to be an accomplice of Parshov, a former Right Sector member and Donbass fighter.
Depo.ua reported that according to TSN, the State Security Service (SBU) arrested Tarasenko and took him to Kiev. They searched his home.
Local members of the National Corps, a right-wing party headed by Andriy Biletskiy, founder of Right Sector, said Tarasenko was a member of their party. 
The National Corps party office in Kiev was attacked with grenades thrown by an unknown assailant on May 22, 2017.
Meanwhile, Andriy Krishchenko, head of the Kiev police, said no suspect has been formally charged with the murder of Voronenkov, who fled persecution in Russia last year and was killed on March 13 by Parshov, a former National Guardsman and combatant in the Donbass who was said to be acting on orders of Russian intelligence.
Kommersant reported that 10 days before his death, Voronenkov, a former member of the Communist Party who had denounced the annexation on Crimea, had reported his address to law-enforcement officials in Russia himself as part of a petition to be removed from Russia’s international wanted list.

— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick

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