Yesterday’s live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here.
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- READ OUR SPECIAL REPORT: An Invasion By Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine
“It has just been reported to me that our demining division in Avdeyevka was attacked. One Ukrainian soldier was killed, and eight were wounded. The shelling was made from an 82-mm mortar-launcher, which under the Minsk agreements should have been withdrawn.”
“But I do not see a connection between the escalations in the east of the country with the activization of Islamic terrorists. But we do see an escalation inside the country, we see the risks and threats of an intrease in terrorists act in Ukraine, and the appropriate measures are being taken in this regard, and security mensions are being tighened.”
“In accordance with decisions made at a coordinating meeting chaired by the president of Ukraine, key infrastructure facilities (airports, train stations, bus stations, metro stops, highways and strategically-important bridges, facilities in the military-industrial complex, diplomatic missions, places of mass gather of people are now moved to a reinforced regimen of protection.”
“I urge you to refrain from actions that can be used by destructive forces and provoke a threat to public safety. I call on you to be vigilant and immediately inform law-enforcement actions (the nearest policeman or the telephone number 102) about persons whose behavior or external appearance provokes suspicion, and about suspicious objects.”
The separatists had no comment about Avdeyevka, but the DNR News service claimed that Ukraine had violated the ceasefire 11 times and fired on Staromikhailovka, Trudovskiye, the airport, Spartak and Lozovoye, as well as Sakhanka and Shiorkaya Balka in the south and near Gorlovka.
Fighting was still continuing around Gorlovka and Staromikhailovka this evening:
Translation: In Starognatovka, a secret cache was found with weapons and explosives in the home of a [separatist] fighter.
Conflict bloggers have been reporting increased movement of armor and are trying to pin down the locations:
Translation: Is there a chance to identify where this was taken? Supposedly in Donetsk/Makeyevka. Maybe there were already photos from there.
Meanwhile, Unian reports that American assistance in the form of radar equipment has been delivered.
В Украину прибыли американские контрбатарейные радары (фото)
Об этом сообщает посол США в Украине Джеффри Пайетт в Twitter. По его словам, радары прибыли во Львов. Читайте также США "модифицируют" контрабатарейные радары для ВСУ, чтобы они не могли ответить на обстрелы РФ – WSJ Стоит отметить, что количество радаров не называется. Напомним, Порошенко сообщал, что США передадут Украине военные радары уже в середине ноября.
Translation: The radars have arrived in Lvov!
Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt is the US envoy to Ukraine.
But as the Wall Street Journal reported on October 21, the radars have been modified to prevent their use to return fire from within Russia:
Advanced radar systems being shipped to Ukraine to counter artillery strikes by pro-Russia separatists have been modified to prevent them from peering into Russia, according to U.S. officials.
The modifications drew fire from a leading Republican critic of the Obama administration, who called it a misguided attempt to mollify Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Barack Obama signed an order on Sept. 29 to give Ukraine two radar systems worth $10 million each. U.S. officials said this week that the systems would arrive at Ukraine’s Yavoriv training ground by mid-November.
U.S. Army officials said they hope the radar would provide Ukraine with a new capability for stopping artillery and rocket attacks launched by separatists. Other officials said the transfer also would send a message to Kiev that Washington’s support for its security forces remains strong.
Known as AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radar with a range up to 15 miles, the systems will be given to front-line Ukrainian army troops to use.
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick