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The office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring group may have been the target of Russian-backed militants who shelled Debaltsevo, segodnya.ua reported October 4.
Yesterday October 4, the OSCE announced the opening up a joint coordination center of the Trilateral Contact Group in Debaltsevo, which consists of senior representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, which is currently Switzerland.
Europeans, Ukrainians and Russians are in the office in Debaltsevo. One of the shells fell on a nine-story building in the city. Ukrainian military people said that judging from the trajectory of the shells, the militants were aiming at the city council building, where the office is located, said segodnya.ua. There were no injuries.
The OSCE Trilateral Contact Group also wished to “express their concern about continuing violations of the cease-fire
regime and agreements reached as a result of consultations, such as the
Minsk Protocol of 5 September and the Minsk Memorandum of 19 September
2014.”
In the last few days, the Russian-backed militants have attacked Debaltsevo.
A video was uploaded to YouTube on October 4, labelled “Debaltsevo Shelling of Residential Quarters 3.10.2014.”
At 0:31 the address is visible, 9 Lesna Street, which is located here on Google Maps.
At 1:30 the Ukrainian soldier says after examining the shell that all the fuel was used up, which meant that it was shot from a long distance.
A nine-story building was also damaged.
According to podrobnosti.ua,the military prosecutor’s office of the Southern District of Ukraine opened up a criminal case under the “terrorism” article regarding the residential buildings shelled in Debaltsevo.
On Friday, 3 October, unidentified persons of unlawful military fomrations with the purpose of intimidating the population opened fire from artillery and mortar launchers at residential quarters of Debaltsevo of the Donetsk Region. As a result of the shelling, a multi-storey residential home at no. 2 Yemchenko Street was destroyed, among others.
The local news site Debaltsevo.com said a total of 11 buildings were damaged by shelling which was said to come from the direction of Alchevsk, which is in a separatist-controlled area.
Meanwhile, another video was uploaded to YouTube on October 3 labeled “Militia stop Ukrainian soldiers outside of Debaltsevo.”
The militants are on a road outside of Debaltsevo and repeatedly launching mortars toward the city.
At one point, a bus filled with children passes by and a separatist notices it. Then the militants examine a destroyed armored vehicle up the road.
According to a report from the pro-separatist news site rusdozor.ru on October 3, fighting broke out near the town of Bryanka in Lugansk Region. The Ukrainian army tried to break through to Debaltsevo, but rebels from the Cossacks’ and Ghost Battalions stopped and destroyed several armored vehicles of the National Guard.
Children were evacuated from the combat zone in buses, rusodozor.ru reported.
It’s not clear if the group of militants in the video are the same ones who shot at Debaltsevo and hit residential buildings.
Other reports from previous days describe attacks on Ukrainian soldiers.
Translation: Ukrainian soldiers were shelled at night from mortar launchers outside Debaltsevo.
So the war is coming back to Debaltsevo.
Translation: Aleksey Mochanov with fighters outside Debaltsevo.
The Novorossiya Militia Dispatches group on the social media site VKontakte posted the following regarding plans for Debaltsevo, from a military analyst on October 4:
After Donetsk, the destruction of the Debaltsevo group of the junta is logical. On the one hand this operation is far more grandiose in scale. On the other hand, after the destruction of the junta in the area of the Donetsk airport the opportunity has come to concentrate forces in that direciton. Debaltsevo is a politically important bulwark.
For a long time, Debaltsevo has ceased to be a convenient place d’armes for the Ukrainian Armed Forces further advancement. But as a communications hub it is very important for the Novorossiya Armed Forces (NAF). Without taking Debaltsevo, it is impossible to plan operations to liberate the northern districts of the DPR. It is precisely for this reason that immediately after the airport (time is needed to move the artillery and haul the necessary amount of ammunition) we must expect an increase of armed clashes in this area.
For now the chief purpose of the NAF in this area is the destruction of the supply convoys and preparation in this way for the destruction of the Debaltsevo group of the junta. It is very important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to break through a safe corridor for supplies. Moreover, this has to be done in the next few days (while the NAF forces are re-deployed form the airport). If this doesn’t happen, the death throes of Debaltsevo will be analogous to the death throes of Ilovaisk and the Airport. It is possible it will be more prolonged (as a result of a greater concentration of forces.)