Ukrainian soldiers say they receive belated orders to return fire at Russian-separatist forces, partly because Ukraine is trying hard to show it is adhering to the Minsk cease-fire agreement reached in February.
Under the cease-fire agreement, government officials say that Ukrainian soldiers are allowed to return fire if they receive permission from their local commanders.
But soldiers disputed that contention, saying that they needed to wait hours for permission to return fire on the frontlines from Kyiv. The delays have cost lives and put others at risk unnecessarily, the soldiers say.
A recent incident occurred on May 24 at the coastal Azov Sea city of Shyrokyne, 20 kilometers east of Mariupol.
According to Donbas Battalion soldier Yevhen Shevchenko, Russian-separatist forces had been shelling Ukrainian positions for about two hours without any resistance from Ukrainian forces. As a result, one soldier was killed, and four more were wounded, with one having his foot amputated the next day.
As soon as the battalion’s leadership decided to return fire, the separatists requested a cease-fire.
“We reported about the beginning of the shelling immediately to our command, asked for support to suppress the enemy fire, and gave the coordinates, but unfortunately we got confirmation to fire back only in two hours,” Shevchenko told the Kyiv Post, adding that he is “just an ordinary soldier,” who is not authorized to comment on his superior’s orders.
Shevchenko said it was far from being an isolated incident, and it “happens quite often.”
Semen Salatenko of the Dnipro Battalion was located in Pisky, the closest city north of occupied Donetsk, for several months until April. He described similar episodes to the Kyiv Post.
During one critical situation, Ukrainian forces faced unanswered shelling for about 13 hours. According to Salatenko, at least four soldiers were killed then.
Russia and its proxies also targeted Ukraine’s positions near the city of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast on May 27.
Presidential Administration spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk on May 28 said the Russian fighters are deliberately shelling towns and villages “in order to blame Ukrainian soldiers.”
At least 33 soldiers were killed during the last two weeks, and another 89 wounded, according to official reports and local media sources. Unofficially, at least 2,145 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine 14 months ago.
The Dnipro Battalion’s Salatenko said that most casualties take place because “we don’t fire back soon. We responded properly only before the (Feb. 15) cease-fire agreement took effect.”
Ukraine military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov told Kyiv Post that enlisted servicemen in the field can neither assess the situation nor “make conclusions at such a level.”
“Many factors influence the decision whether to open fire,” Seleznyov said. “When there is an obvious attack on our unit, and when there is a real threat to our personnel, there is no need to get any official permission to fire back. The unit commander, located in the risk zone, makes the decision to open fire, using the available arsenal of weapons and ammunition.”
Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said in an interview with Ukraina TV channel that Ukraine will not go on the offensive. “We will strongly fulfill all our commitments. However, we have to defend our civilians and in case of attack, we will do everything to ensure the defense,” Poroshenko said.
Seleznyov said Russian-led forces shell territory near Ukrainian positions to provoke retaliatory fire so that international monitors, like the Organization for Securiy and Cooperation in Europe, can record a truce violation.
Michael Bociurkiw, spokesman for the OSCE, said the situation has been deteriorating in the east lately. Tension remains high in cities on the eastern war front, including Shyrokyne and Avdiivka, there are also new hot spots in Luhansk Oblast near Stakhanov and Antratsyt.
“On the worst days there were around 2,000 explosions around Donetsk airport and railway station – especially around Shyrokyne and Donetsk,” Bociurkiw said. At least 170 explosions were reported near Donetsk airport in recent days, according to OSCE data.
Bociurkiw says it’s important for monitors to get to the site where the violations were reported, however, it’s not an easy task to decide which side is breaking the truce.
“When the two sides are so close together as they are in Shyrokyne and near Donetsk airport, if one side fires it often invites return fire and it’s kind of a trend we have been seeing for some time,” Bociurkiw said.
Edmond Huet, a French engineer and armament expert based in Kyiv, defended the Ukrainian military’s tactics. “I find that Ukraine’s response is well-balanced and Ukraine observes the cease-fire and does not open fire first,” Huet said.
Every time Russian-separatists violate the truce, he said the Ukrainian side responds.
The European Union is seen as likely to extend economic sanctions against Russia in June if the Minsk agreements are not fully implemented. Aside from a full bilateral truce, both sides were supposed to create a buffer zone at least 50 kilometers wide to separate artillery systems of 100 millimeters or more, and to withdraw heavier weapons by up to 140 kilometers, depending on the system.
Kyiv Post staff writers Alyona Zhuk and Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected]
