Attacks continue on Ukraine from Russian territory (UPDATED) (TABLE)

While the tragic event has all but deprived Russia of plausible deniability over its involvement in the eastern Ukraine war that has claimed at least 825 civilian and military lives, Russia has with regularity been shelling Ukrainian positions from its side of the border, according to Kyiv authorities.  

According to the counter-terrorism 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. The same night, Ukrainian positions near Kamyshne, Berezovo, Amvrosievka and the Luhansk Airport were shelled by Grad rockets, stated Anti-Terrorism Operation spokesperson Vladyslav Seleznyov.

“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 state’s borders.”

In a post on VKontakte, a Russian social media site, alleged Russian soldier Vadim Grigoriev boasts of “shelling Ukraine all night,” from Rostov Oblast, which included pictures of artillery cannons and munitions.

Kyiv claims that Russia has already shot down three Su-25 jets with projectiles from Russia. On the eve of the Malaysian airliner shoot-down, Kyiv says a Russian MiG-29 shot down one of its jets from Russian airspace. On July 23, National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said two more Su jets were shot down at an altitude of 5,200 meters by rockets fired from Russia.

Additionally, 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.

Russia continues to violate Ukraine’s airspace, the Border Guard Service added. Four times on the evening of July 22 Russian military helicopters and drones flew into Ukraine by as deep as 500 meters. 

Russian supply of weapons and munitions persist

Russia has had an instrumental role in supplying Kremlin-backed guerillas and Russian proxies with weapons, a range of sources say, including U.S. intelligence services, NATO and Kyiv authorities.  

There is allegedly a military staging area in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast.  Supplies include T-64 tanks, Grad multiple-rocket launchers, various armored personnel carriers equipped with cannons, Buk advanced radar-guided surface-to-air systems, shoulder-fired rocket launchers as well as sniper rifles, mines, grenades and automatic weapons.

The National Security and Defense Council’s Lysenko also said on July 24 that a field camp of Russian armed forces has been set up not far from the state border in Bryansk Oblast.

Cited by Interfax Ukraine, Lysenko also said that not far from the villages of Churovichi, Zeleny Kut and Rudnya-Tsata in Bryansk Oblast, ten kilometers from the border with northern Ukraine, Russia continued to equip camouflaged firing positions of infantry fighting vehicles.

He also said that in the border areas near Kharkiv Oblast, “Russian military had deployed five armored personnel carriers, three tanks and other military equipment,” reported Interfax Ukraine.

“According to the latest information, there are about 500 Russian servicemen in the camp, and their number is constantly growing,” Lysenko said, cited by Interfax Ukraine. 

Dangerous
eastern Ukrainian skies

A timeline of events shows how more advanced
weapons have been used since April to shoot down aircraft

Source:
Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, National Security and Defense Council
of Ukraine

Kyiv Post editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at rachkevych@kyivpost.com.