• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Ukrainian army forced back from Lugansk - LPR head

8 July 2014, 20:13 -- Leader of the self-declared Lugansk People's Republic Valery Bolotov said the republic's militia has forced Ukrainian troops back from Lugansk. 'The armed forces of the Lugansk People's Republic have forced Ukrainian troops to retreat. The frontline moved in our favor on individual stretches. We remain in control of Izvarino and this stretch of the border,' Bolotov said at a press conference on Tuesday.

'The republic's defenses have become stronger. We have armored vehicles and artillery system at our disposal now, including Grad launchers, howitzers, air defense systems and mortars,' Bolotov said.

Blast near mine west of Donetsk could be Ukrainian air strike - DPR authorities

An explosion ripped through an area near the Petrovskaya coal mine west of Donetsk on Tuesday damaging a bus, the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said on Tuesday. The blast occurred at around 1 pm local time. No one was hurt in the incident. Heavy smoke could be seen rising over the mine.

According to the '62.ua' web portal, a Ukrainian warplane bombed the mine's administrative building that reportedly accommodated 300 DPR self-defense fighters. Eyewitnesses say they saw a plane circling over the place.

The Ukrainian side denied the report.

Unconfirmed reports claim that the mine serves as a DPR military headquarters.

Residential building under artillery fire in Lugansk - city council

Residential building has come under artillery fire in Lugansk, according to the Lugansk City Council. 'According to the 15-77 anti-crisis center, a shell hit the corner of the residential house, between the eighth and ninth floors at number six in Sudokholska Street. No one was killed or injured, Interfax reports.

Three families were evacuated. Emergency and rescue efforts are under way,' the spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Poroshenko approves plan to seize Donetsk, Lugansk

Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko has approved of a plan to 'liberate' Lugansk and Donetsk in the east of the country, deputy head of the National Security Council of Ukraine (SBU) Mikhail Koval said. Both cities are now controlled by the self-defense forces of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics. The Ukrainian command intends to lay siege to Donetsk and Lugansk to force the self-defense fighters to surrender.

Earlier, self-defense fighters retreated from the embattled towns of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Artyomovsk and Druzhkova in the north of the Donetsk region after Ukrainian troops resorted to 'carpet bombings,' killing and wounding scores of civilians and destroying homes and major life-support facilities and infrastructure.

Poroshenko met with top army and interior forces commanders late Monday and 'approved plans for the liberation of Lugansk and Donetsk,' Ukraine's UNIAN news agency reports.

Source: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_07_08/ Ukrainian-army-forced- back-from-Lugansk-LPR-head-1755/