Ukraine recaptures two airborne combat vehicles on eve of truce

Military expert Dmitry Tymchuk told the Kyiv Post that
no fatalities were recorded and one Moscow-backed insurgent was wounded. Ukrainian
soldiers only had orders to shoot at the legs or feet during the operation to
avoid the loss of enemy lives, added Tymchuk. 

The news comes as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy
Deshchytsia announced a truce over Easter weekend and that anti-terrorist
actions would resume if Kremlin-backed insurgents don’t vacate illegally
occupied government buildings and other facilities, including roads and police
stations as per the April 17 agreement in Geneva between Ukraine, America, the
European Union and Russia. 

Meanwhile, Russia has fortified its western border
with Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov,
told Deutsche Welle. Without providing exact numbers, Peskov said that “additional
forces have amassed near Russia’s western border with Ukraine.” 

According to NATO, there are up to 40,000 Russian
military forces amassed at more than 100 bases near Ukraine’s borders. NATO
commander Phillip Breedlove has said that Russia is capable of cutting off
Ukraine from the Azov and Black Seas within three-five days with the main
thrust coming from the east. 

In another operation, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU)
said on April 19 that it has confiscated 695 units of arms, over 1.52 million
units of ammunition, 215 kilograms of explosives and 573 units of explosive
devices such as, grenades and mines. The SBU states that 155 missions were
carried out and that “nine weapon smuggling channels were liquidated.” 

Multi-task force operations are also
underway to beef up Ukraine’s borders with more than 11,000 Russian citizens
being denied entry to Ukraine since the start of last week. Money
mules have also been captured carrying large sums of cash designated for
Kremlin-backed insurgents in eastern Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service
has said. Separately, the prosecutor’s office has stated that it is
investigating 14 banks of financing terrorism activities in southeastern
Ukraine.

In addition, the SBU states that 90
percent of the 77 captured Moscow-backed terrorists in Mariupol who tried taking
over a military base have broken the law, 17 of whom criminally. 

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