Successes in the Eastern/Central part of Donetsk Region

Over the past day there are a number of positive developments in the actions of the ATO forces leading to the liberation of territories from the terrorists.

Toward evening of August 7 the Ukrainian forces managed to regain control over Savur-Mohyla and entrench there. At the same time day long actions for the liberation of Miusynsk took place.

Why didn’t we focus on that yesterday?

First, our mission is to inform about the occurred events and that is why we release information only after we have confirmed it with the insiders in the field. The ATO forces did not take Miusynsk from the first attempt and we only received final confirmation of the successful action today.

Second, to write about not yet finished maneuvers of the ATO forces means to reveal the plan. We are not looking for sensations and we believe that it is right to hold back information in case its disclosure may jeopardize ATO forces in any way.

The liberation of Miusynsk is the significant step towards control over the H21 highway in the area between Shnizne and Krasnyi Luch. This will somewhat complicate transfers reinforcements from Luhansk region to Donetsk for the terrorists, and paves the way for the ATO forces to advance on Krasnyi Luch from the southwest. At the same time ATO forces advance upon Krasnyi Luch from the northeast via Fachivka as well.

Besides these maneuvers, ATO forces have moved towards Torez and Snizhne from the southwest via Velyka and Mala Shyshivka effectively preventing the terrorists from counter-attacking on the wing of the ATO forces in Savur-Mohyla. Right now there are engagements in the southern outskirts of Snizhne. This is indeed good news, as we can finally see real successes from the actions of the ATO forces.

Horlivka

In the evening we received information about the engagements near Krasnyi Partyzan (southwest of Horlivka) and that the ATO forces had entered several suburbs of the town. As of today Panteleimonivka (on the M04) can be considered a territory controlled by the Ukrainian forces. This cuts off one of the transfer routes of terrorists from Horlivka to Makiivka. However, the patrimony of Yanukovych is still under the control of terrorists. Thus Horlivka has not been completely encircled yet. It is most likely that Horlivka will be dealt with later, after the ATO forces mop up the Debaltseve area from the remnants of terrorist forces. We hope that the ATO Command finally recalls the need of securing the rear before continuing the offensive.

Donetsk

There are several interesting aspects with regard to Donetsk.

There are reports about the activity of guerilla groups in the very nest of the terrorists – in the city of Donetsk. According to preliminary information, those groups destroy enemy equipment thus causing panic in the ranks of terrorists. We have not received confirmation from our insiders yet but we cannot rule out credibility of this information. On the southern front of Donetsk, terrorist activity is observed in the direction of Mariupol. However, the possibility of breach into that direction has lowered significantly due to the actions of the ATO forces which make terrorist draw off their forces in these other directions. The control over the H21 highway is very important for terrorists because this is the primary route for all reinforcements from the Russian Federation. As a consequence they will try to save this supply channel at all costs. This conclusion is confirmed by the movement of convoys of military equipments of terrorists from Donetsk to Khartsyzk.

The terrorists continue their provocative shelling of residential areas. And if terrorists after further shelling could spread rumors that “the Kyiv junta and punishers exterminate civilians”, now almost no one believes them because most people have learned to compare the facts and do not believe propagandists anymore.

Luhansk Region: Northern Towns

The ATO forces continue to attack Prevomaisk; the terrorists counter-attack towards Popasna.

Pervomaisk, Stakhanov, Irmino, Kirovsk is the area that requires special attention. This area can be held by terrorists for a long time, given that it is protected from the east by the Severskyi Donets River, and that the enemy have developed a fortified zone to the north in Kirovsk.

Luhansk City and the Southern Areas

Unfortunately there are several negative aspects to report. The Ukrainian forces had to retreat from the border positions under Dyakove and draw off some forces in the area of Nyzhnii, Naholchyk and Yesaulivka.

Other bad news is the loss of control over BCP (Border Control Post) Dozhanskyi. This potentially allows the terrorists to counter-attack from the direction of Antratsyt and Rovenky on the wing of the forces advancing upon Miusynsk and Krasnyi Luch.

The ATO forces continue to advance around Luhansk from the north. At that, according to our data, the terrorists are preparing a retaliatory strike towards Velyka Verhunka. Small convoys of military equipments from the Russian Federation move via Krasnodon and Alchevsk.

It is most likely that the terrorists gather either in Rovenky and  Antratsyt to counter-attack upon Savur-Mohyla and to strengthen their control over Dolzhanskyi, or a second option would be that they gather in Alchevsk and Perevalsk, which gives them an opportunity to attack the Lutuhyne grouping, given that the ATO forces began to move southwards from Uspenka towards Krasnyi Yar (according to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine).

It is not clear yet what happened this night in Shchastya: the locals saw some flashes and fires. If this has been sabotage, this means that the predicted strikes to the rear of the ATO forces in Vesela Hora have already begun.

Finally, in the cities in the Russian Federation bordering the Luhansk Oblast (Krasnodon, Molodohvardiisk etc), coverage of the Russian mobile operators (MegaFon and Tele2) has appeared out of the blue. It is not known yet whether this is due to damage of MTS base stations, but such an `occupation’ of the mobile space of the border areas is alarming. We are waiting for analysisfrom experts as to how this has occurred.

Translated by Oxana Tinko, edited by Larry Field

• Русский: Антитеррористическая операция в Украине. Сводка по состоянию на 8 августа 2014
• Українська: Антитерористична операція в Україні. Зведення станом на 8 серпня 2014
• English: The Anti-Terrorist Operation in Ukraine: Summary for August 8, 2014