You're reading: As heavy fighting erupts, Ukraine claims to rebuff separatist offensive

Fighting flared in Ukraine’s Donbas war zone early Aug. 10, with Ukrainian military sources claiming a big attack by combined Russian-separatist forces had been repelled.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said that, following an artillery barrage
and infantry attack by anti-government forces, Ukraine’s army had
counterattacked and taken key positions near the village of Starohnativka in
Volnovakha district, Donetsk region, which were formerly held by illegal armed
groups, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

“The enemy was stopped and pushed back two or three kilometers. Our
units took over key heights that were previously controlled by terrorist
groups. The enemy suffered considerable losses both in terms of manpower and in
equipment,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on its website.

“Unfortunately, seven Ukrainian soldiers were injured during the
fighting,” the ministry said.

Other unconfirmed reports on social media put casualties on the
Ukrainian side at four killed in action. One of those killed was from Ukraine’s
72nd Brigade, while the other three were from the fighting force of
ultranationalist group Right Sector, according to pro-Ukrainian journalist
Olena Bilozerska.

Serhiy Misura, a soldier fighting on the front who posts regularly on
social media, said the 72nd Brigade had suffered one killed and four wounded in
the battle.

Reports from journalists and soldiers of heavy fighting in the area of
Starohnativka started to spread overnight on social media.

According to, Yaroslav Chepurny, the press officer of the “M” sector of
the front line (in the area of Mariupol and southern Donetsk region), during
the counterattack Ukrainian forces managed to capture the village of Novolaspa,
Ukrainian news website Novosti Mariupol reported.

Chepurny said that the combined Russian-separatists infantry went on the
offensive in the area of Starohnativka at 0325 on Aug. 10 after first shelling
Ukrainian positions. The attack was supported by tanks, he said.

Ukrainian forces responded with heavy artillery, and then launched a
counterattack, the head of the Ukrainian General Staff’s press service,
Vladislav Seleznev, told Ukrainian online news website Ukrainska Pravda.

“We know that the (separatist) attack involved 400 militants, who
were backed by tanks, mortars and artillery. We have the situation under
control,” Seleznev.

According to the Defense Ministry, a combined Russian-separatist force
of up to a battalion tactical group, supported by 10 tanks, 10 infantry fighting
vehicles and other equipment, launched an attack on a fortified position of
Ukraine’s 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade in the area of Starohnativka.

“The Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the Chief of General Staff
and Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine immediately reported this to the
President of Ukraine, and informed the OSCE representatives, after which it was
decided to redeploy Ukrainian artillery,” the ministry said.

Seleznev said that in the face of the Ukrainian counterattack, the
combined Russian-separatist forces had retreated to the village Bilokamyanka,
just south of Novolaspa.

There were conflicting reports over whether Ukrainian forces had managed
to retake Novolaspa, with Ukrainian journalist Andriy Tsaplienko claiming in a
post on his Facebook page that Ukrainian forces were now in control of the
village.

“Our (forces) are in Novolaspa! For the first time since February
(Ukrainian) forces are not on the defensive,” Tsaplienko wrote. “The 72nd
Brigade have beaten the enemy out of a village that the ‘DNRists’ had counted
as theirs.”

However, Anatoly Stelmach, a Ukraine military spokesperson, would not
confirm to Ukrainska Pravda that Ukraine had indeed regained control of
Novolaspa.

“We’re not commenting on this statement. I can say that there were
military clashes, and we pushed the enemy back,” Stelmach told the news
website.

“A positional battle continues,” he said.

But Misura, writing on Facebook mid-morning on Aug. 10, said Ukrainian
commanders had given the order for Ukrainian troops to pull out of Novolaspa,
and back to positions fixed by last February’s Minsk peace agreements. He said
there had been heavy fighting all morning for the village, with a lot of street
fighting.

“After the capture of the village of Novolaspa, to avoid
misunderstandings and a rise in conflict, the command came to the conclusion
that it was necessary (for Ukrainian forces) to move back to the positions
agreed in Minsk. We have not broken (the agreement)!” Misura wrote.

Kyiv Post editor Euan MacDonald can be reached at [email protected]