Russian-backed terrorist attacks rise, Ukraine claims right to defend itself

Russian-backed terrorists applied artillery and mortar fire against the towns of Chermalyk and Starohnativka in the Donetsk region the night and early morning of Aug. 11, Vladislav Seleznev, the head of the press service of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the pravda.com.ua news site. As a result, the Ukrainian government warned the OSCE special monitoring mission that it could use artillery fire in response. The terrorists engaged in an assault of Starohnativka the night of Aug. 10 backed by military hardware. As of 23:46 on Aug. 11, calm returned but the situation remained tense, Seleznev said. Meanwhile, the Shyrokyno district was targeted with rifle fire.

The Aug. 11 assault on Starohnativka was an attempt to conquer the town using intensive tank and Grad rocket fire, reported the Financial Times that day, citing the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The body said it reserved the right to “rebuff the enemy if militants don’t stop provocations and continue to fire on our positions,” according to the report.

Ukrainian positions in nine towns were targeted with mortar and artillery fire the evening of Aug. 11, in violation of the Minsk accords, reported the press-center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation on its Facebook page. In all, the terrorists violated the cease-fire regime 87 times that evening.

The escalated attacks, particularly on Aug. 10 and 11 near Starohnativka, violate the spirit and letter of the Minsk accords, said on Aug. 11 the press center of the European Union Foreign Policy Service. The Minsk accords should be upheld with a cease-fire and removal of heavy artillery, the statement said. Future negotiations of the trilateral contact group should lead to the full implementation of the Minsk accords, the service said. The EU also condemned the torching of four OSCE monitoring cars on the early morning of Aug. 10, later that day reporting escalated fighting.

Zenon Zawada: The conflict has no end in sight and continues to threaten Ukraine’s political and economic stability. On a larger scale, neither Russia nor the West are backing down from their positions in the conflict, which ensures its continuance for many months to come.