Most Ukrainian casualties in Donbas war zone inflicted since summer

Terrorists with the Donetsk People’s Republic aimed mortar fire at a military point on Nov. 14 in the coke-smelting town of Avdiyivka, killing one Ukrainian soldier and injuring eight, reported Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The attack was carried out by an 82-mm mortar, which was supposed to have been withdrawn according to the Minsk accords, he said. Besides the Avdiyivka attack, five soldiers were killed and four injured in the 24 hours leading up to noon Nov. 14, reported the press-service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation.

Russian-backed terrorist attacks – launched from various points in the occupied territories of Donbas on Nov. 7 – killed 15 Ukrainian soldiers, the president of a mobile hospital told Civic Radio (hromadskeradio.org) on Nov. 15. The Anti-Terrorist Operation press-service has yet to official report these casualties, reported the pravda.com.ua news site on Nov. 16.

Ukrainian Armed Forces have warned the OSCE that they will return defensive artillery to the front lines if the situation in the occupied territories worsens, said on Nov. 15 Joint Chiefs of Staff Spokesman Vladyslav Seleznev, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.

Zenon Zawada: The worst violence in occupied Donbas since the cease-fire began on Sept. 1 has occurred in the last week. So it’s worth watching to see whether casualties become a frequent phenomenon again (several per week), which would indicate the war has reignited. So far, it’s hard to tie these attacks as Russian leverage in any geopolitical events, other than President Putin’s informal meeting with U.S. President Obama on Nov. 15. Meanwhile, the government’s failure to report 15 casualties only heightens the public’s deep distrust for the current government, especially the president.