Occupiers Strengthen Positions in Donbas. 275 Units of Military Equipment Deployed

The OSCE mission also detected weapons and military equipment deployed in violation of withdrawal lines.

As of January 15, Russian mercenaries in the so-called DPR and LPR had deployed 275 units of military equipment in violation of withdrawal lines. 

The Ukrainian side of the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC) stressed that Russian armed formations in the occupied east have once again violated the Minsk agreements. 

During January 15, an additional 275 units of military equipment of Russian armed formations deployed in violation of regulations were detected and recorded in the so-called DPR and LPR. 

“Compared with the previous day, additional Russian weapons and military equipment were detected in the Shymshynivka, Miusynsk and Sadovyi areas. The work of the OSCE SMM in temporarily occupied territories was hindered by Russian armed formations: small arms fire was opened in the direction of a short-range SMM UAV when it flew over the Vasylivka area,” says the message from the ATO staff. 

In particular, in the area of operations of the so-called “1st Army Corps,” a total of 37 units of weapons and military equipment are deployed, including:

• in violation of the withdrawal line in the Novoselovka area (31 km from the line of contact) — tanks of unidentified type (7 units)
• in violation of storage areas in the Ternovo area (57 km from the line of contact) — tanks of unidentified type (7 units)
• military presence in the security zone in the Ternovo area (57 km from the line of contact) — self-propelled artillery units (9 units), armored combat vehicles (14 units)

In the area of operations of the so-called “2nd Army Corps,” a total of 238 units of weapons and military equipment are deployed, including:

• in violation of the withdrawal line in the areas of: Bugayevka (37 km from the line of contact) — 2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm (14 units), D-30 122 mm (12 units); Sadovyi (57 km from the line of contact) — towed artillery system (6 units)
• in violation of storage areas in the areas of: Bugayevka (37 km from the line of contact) — T-72 (1 unit), T-64 (13 units); Shymshynivka (27 km from the line of contact) — tanks of unidentified type (10 units); Miusynsk (62 km from the line of contact) — self-propelled artillery units (15 units), towed artillery system (10 units), tanks of unidentified type (19 units)
• military presence in the security zone in the areas of: Bugayevka (37 km from the line of contact) — R-142 (1 unit), R-145 (2 units), armored combat vehicles (44 units), 9K35 Strela-10 (3 units), radio relay stations (2 units); Miusynsk (62 km from the line of contact) — multiple rocket launchers (3 units); Sadovyi (57 km from the line of contact) — multiple rocket launchers (2 units); Shymshynivka (27 km from the line of contact) — armored combat vehicles (27 units)

On January 14, the OSCE mission detected weapons and military equipment in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions deployed in violation of withdrawal lines and outside designated storage sites. 

“The SMM recorded weapons deployed in violation of withdrawal lines: 26 howitzers at a training area near the village of Bugayevka (not controlled by the government, 37 km southwest of Luhansk), as well as 7 tanks at a training area near the village of Novoselovka (not controlled by the government, 31 km northeast of Donetsk),” says the OSCE SMM report. 

Mission observers also report that in areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions not controlled by the government, beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated weapons storage sites, the mission recorded:

• 3 surface-to-air missile systems
• 50 tanks
• 15 self-propelled artillery units
• 10 towed artillery systems deployed at training areas near Ternovo (57 km east of Donetsk), Bugayevka (27 km southwest of Luhansk) and Miusynsk (62 km southwest of Luhansk)
• 6 towed artillery systems at one site near Sadovyi