Crisis in Ukraine: Daily Briefing 24 July, 2014, 6 PM Kyiv time 1. Malaysian Aircraft shot down over eastern Ukraine The bodies of the victims of Flight MH-17, continue to be repatriated in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Media report that up to 98 bodies are still unaccounted for. Kremlin-backed terrorist leader A. Khodakovsky claimed that terrorists had a BUK anti-aircraft missile of the type used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion, acknowledged that the terrorists possessed the Buk missile system and said it could have been sent back subsequently to remove proof of its presence. 2. Russias proxy war against Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts The active phase of the Anti-Terrorism Operation (ATO) in Donetsk and Luhansk continues. According to Ukraines National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) at 17:00 Kyiv time Ukrainian military took control over the settlement Verkhniokamenske in Donetsk. The RNBO also released a list of 15 incidents since April when Kremlin-backed terrorists have fired upon aircraft in eastern Ukraine.Russian military aggression towards Ukraine has persisted unabated since Kremlin-backed terrorists shot down MH17 on July 17, killing all 298 people on board, including more than 80 children. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia has regularly been shelling Ukrainian positions from its side of the border. According to the ATO communications center, Russia fired at eight Ukrainian positions on July 22-24. Artillery fire and multiple-rocket launchers on July 24 twice shelled a checkpoint near the town of Ilinka from Russia. Positions and checkpoints of anti-terrorist forces continue to be fired upon, including from the territory of the Russian Federation, said Seleznyov. The guerillas are trying to hold parts of the Ukrainian states borders. Russian soldiers are boasting on social media site VKontakte, Russians of shelling Ukraine all night, from Rostov Oblast, which included pictures of artillery cannons and munitions. The Ukrainian Border Guard Service stated that on July 22-July 23 Russia fired three times on its positions near Amvrosiyivka, Herasimovka and the Uspenka border crossing with artillery batteries and Grad rockets. The Border Guard Service stated that Russia violated Ukrainian airspace four times on the evening of July 22-23 with Russian military helicopters and drones flying into Ukraine by as much as 500 meters. 3. Terrorists kidnap CNN journalist Armed terrorists from Kremlin-backed Donetsk Peoples Republic seized Anton Skiba outside a hotel in the city of Donetsk after he had worked for one day with a CNN television crew. 4. UDAR and Svoboda withdraw from Coalition, PM Yatseniuk tenders resignation UDAR and Svoboda left the coalition in order to allow a new election and clear Moscow agents from the chamber. According to the Ukrainian Constitution, the Rada has 30 days to try to forge a new Constitution, or the President may call pre-term elections. On 24 July, Prime Minister A.Yatseniuk tendered his resignation, setting the stage for early Parliamentary elections perhaps as soon as October 26. Yatseniuk expressed his frustration after being unable to have parliament approve necessary funding for military forces and the blocking of government initiatives. © UCC
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 17:58:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015