3 Ukrainian Soldiers Wounded; LNR Pays Part of Debt to Restore Water Supply

Ukrainian soldiers at the front line December 31, 2016. Photo by Unian

Ukraine Day 1055: LIVE UPDATES BELOW. Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in battle today. Heavy snowstorms have closed roads in Odessa and other provinces and power is out in some areas. But water was restored to some areas of Lugansk Region after the Russia-backed separatist authorities paid part of their bills.

Yesterday’s live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here.

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3 Ukrainian Soldiers Wounded; LNR Pays Part of Debt to Restore Water Supply

2017-01-08 03:04:49

Photo by EPA

Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded today in battle, Liga.net reported, citing the ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation] briefing on Facebook.

Col. Oleksandr Motuzyannik, speaker for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on ATO affairs, said two soldiers were wounded yesterday as we reported as a result of grenade-launcher fire on Ukrainian positions in Novotoshkovskoye.

The ATO reported at 18:00 that there were 32 attacks today, Unian.net reported.

On the Mariupol line, 122-mm artillery was used to attack Vodyanoye; mortar-launchers were used on Pavlopol and Talakovka. Grenade-launchers, heavy machine guns and small arts were used on Pavlopol, Maryinka, Gnutovo, Starognatovka, Vodyanoye, Talakovka and Shirokino.

On the Lugansk line, there was firing from mortar-launchers on Troitskoye and from grenade-launchers and small arms on Novoaleksandrovka and Novozvanovka.

On the Donetsk line, 82-mm mortar-launchers and an armed BMP was used to fire on Troitskoye, and grenade-launchers and small arms were used on Peski, Avdeyevka and Luganskoye.

Russia-backed militants attacked Avdeyevka and were repelled by Ukrainian forces.

Social media users reported fighting.

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Translation: VK Maryinka “18:35 – two impacts, judging from the sound, near the boarding school or Zelyony Wood.

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Translation: VK #Petrovka #Trudovskiye Once again, coming from the brick factory, the marketplace at 19:30 #Donetsk

There were some sightings of Russian trains bringing in lumber.

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Translation: Yasinovataya, 7 January, Putin’s guys brought in train cars with lumber…

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Eduard Basurin, the self-styled defense minister of the self-declared “Donetsk People’s Republic” said Ukrainian forces attacked DRN positions with 82-mm, 120-mm, 122-mm and 152-mm artillery. He said there was firing on Sakhanka, Kulikovo, Leninskoye, Kominternovo, Dzerzhinskoye, and Oktyabr. Residents of Kulikovo were reportedly without heat or electricity as a result and 4 homes were damaged. The village of Sergeyevka was also without electricity. Shirokaya Balka and Zaytsevo, suburbs of Gorlovka were also said to be attacked along with suburbs of Donetsk: Zhabichevo, Spartak and Aleksandrovka.

Ukrainian TV 24 ran a feature about how ATO soldiers were spending Christmas in Popasnyaya, which is celebrated today, January 7, on the Orthodox calendar.

The broadcast featured a husband and wife who are serving on the front line together, although this means they have left their school-age children behind.

o Roads Closed in Ukrainian Provinces Due to Snowy Weather

Traffic has been halted on all roads in Odessa Region due to the weather. An accident at the Primorsky District heating network has left 35 homes without heat.

Ukrainian emergency authorities have deployed trucks to help stranded motorists, Unian.net reported.

Other regions have limited or halted traffic on some roads.

As of this evening, 31 towns in four regions were without electricity, Unian.net reported.

o With Debt Partly Paid, Water Restored to Some Parts of Lugansk Region

Ukraine has received the first part of the back payments owed for water supply from the self-declared “Lugansk People’s Republic”, Liga.net reported, citing the Ukrainian Ministry on Issues of the Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally-Displaced Persons.

Yesterday, January 6, a payment of 10.5 million hryvnia (US $389,282) was made to the Popasnyaya District Water Canal to supply water to the territory in Lugansk Region under control of the Russian-backed separatists. This enabled the Popasnyaya District to pay its own energy debts.

Water had previously been shut off on December 1, 2016 due to non-payment of about 124 million hryvnia (about $4.6 million), after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin said Russia refused to pay the bill. About 600,000 residents were said to be without water.

— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick

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