Ukraine crisis: Many soldiers die in Donetsk attack

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

Ukraine's government has confirmed a deadly attack on troops in the eastern region of Donetsk, with reports saying at least 11 soldiers died.

Heavily armed "terrorists" attacked a checkpoint in the Volnovakha area, killing or wounding a number of soldiers, the defence ministry said.

Associated Press journalists counted 11 bodies at the scene while a Russian website said 15 soldiers had died.


Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27515514

[dipsydoodle]

1. AP journalists see 11 dead at Ukraine checkpoint

BLAHODATNE, Ukraine — AP journalists have seen 11 dead bodies at a Ukrainian military checkpoint. Witnesses said that pro-Russian insurgents attacked the checkpoint in the village of Blahodatne in the eastern Donetsk region on Thursday.

Three charred Ukrainian armored personnel carriers and several other burned military vehicles stood at the site of the combat.

Witnesses said about 30 Ukrainian troops were wounded when the insurgents attacked the checkpoint.

Pro-Russian insurgents in the east, who have seized government buildings and engaged in clashes with government troops that have left scores dead since April, on Thursday continued battling the Ukrainian forces around Slovyansk, the eastern city that has been the epicenter of fighting.

In the village of Semenovka on the outskirts of Slovyansk, artillery shelling that appeared to come from government positions badly damaged several houses Thursday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russian-trains-planes-move-army-away-from-ukraine/2014/05/22/25cf7894-e178-11e3-9442-54189bf1a809_story.html

[pampango]

2. CBC: Rebel attack kills at least 11, injures 30

AP journalists saw 11 bodies scattered around a checkpoint near the village of Blahodatne, 30 kilometres south of the major city of Donetsk. Witnesses said more than 30 Ukrainian troops were wounded when the insurgents attacked and that some of them were in grave condition.

Residents said attackers used an armoured bank truck, which the unsuspecting Ukrainian soldiers waved through, and then mowed them down at point-blank range. Their account couldn't be independently confirmed.

In the town of Horlivka, a rebel commander claimed responsibility for the raid and showed an array of seized Ukrainian weapons.

Putin's pullout order and his remarks welcoming Ukraine's presidential election Sunday reflected an attempt to ease tensions with the West over Ukraine and avoid a new round of Western sanctions. He has ignored the plea of some of the rebels in eastern Ukraine to join Russia.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-crisis-rebel-attack-kills-at-least-11-injures-30-1.2650438

[cosmicone]

3. will Victoria Nuland attend the funerals? n/t

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. Already some in the tinfoil crowd are claiming it was an inside job.

Claiming that the Ukrainian army was attacked by other pro-Ukrainian fighters, and not pro-Russian separatists.

It's as if these people are pathologically incapable of admitting that people on the pro-Russian separatist side are not just peaceful "protesters" but actually armed militants.

Sigh.

[uhnope]

5. Tinfoil hats are manufactured in Russia

[freshwest]

8. I'm waiting for the latest CT to surface that I stumbled upon (to my disgust) yesterday.

'Boko Harum is a plot by Obama.' I felt like I needed bleach from the video description.

I didn't watch it since the source is one of the most well-financed Bircher GOP Libertarian franchises with slick productions, I expect to see it pop up.

That's where the pathology you speak of comes from, like non-stop IV drip full of anti-government hate. And fear. Gotta have that F.U.D. going all the time. Keeps people suggestible and receptive to more.

It is a mental addiction like Faux Noise. Gives a high from the adrenaline rush, but when it's over shut off, those addicted feel empty so they run back for more to give their life purpose.

[uhnope]

6. But...but...Putin wants peace!

[bemildred]

7. Black day for Ukraine military ahead of key vote

VOLNOVAKHA, Ukraine: Pro-Russian rebels firing mortar shells and grenades killed 14 Ukrainian soldiers on Thursday, the blackest day yet for the military and a dramatic ratcheting up of tensions just three days before a crunch election.

The attacks in the eastern industrial belt near the Russian border underscored the difficulties of the embattled Kiev government in resolving a crisis that is threatening to tear the country apart.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of trying to "escalate the conflict" and disrupt Sunday's vote, calling on the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting on the crisis.

He said the Kremlin's announcement of a troop withdrawal from the border was merely a "bluff", and that even if soldiers were redeploying, Ukraine was still being infiltrated by "armed terrorists".

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/black-day-for-ukraine/1117570.html