Horn
9th August 2014, 08:58 AM
Retreat?
The commander of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine was once fond of using social media to boast about his fighters' victories -- large or small -- over Ukraine's military forces.
But as Kyiv has moved to surround the last bastions of rebel control, Igor Girkin, known by his nom-de-guerre, Strelkov, or "Shooter," seems to have soured.
With Moscow placing as many as 20,000 Russian military personnel along the border with eastern Ukraine, but so far resisting (http://www.rferl.org/contentlive/liveblog/25416257.html#liveblog40898) his call for a full-scale "peacekeeping" mission, Girkin is now lashing out at his own supporters for the military losses.
In a post on Vkontakte, Russia's most popular social network, the former military reenactor, whom Kyiv accuses of working for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), announced that Ukrainian forces had taken the strategically important town of Krasnyy Luch.
The self-proclaimed separatist republic of Donetsk is "fully surrounded" Girkin says, before tearing into a brigade of pro-Russian Cossacks.
"The Cossacks, keeping with tradition, ran," he says while facetiously congratulating them for recent defeats. "They are awaiting new great achievements. The brilliant Donetsk Cossack battle path has been marked by landmark achievements like [their] surrender of Krasnyy Lyman in one day, the surrender without a fight of Poposna, the surrender of Debaltseve, and the surrender without a fight of Fashchivka. Now Krasnyy Luch has joined the list. Hooray! We will wait for new achievements."
A map released by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council on August 9 shows the shrinking self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk now fully cut off from each other, but a Ukrainian military spokesman said he could not yet confirm that Krasnyy Luch is in Kyiv's hands
6647
More at link
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-rebels-military-situation-frustration-strelkov/26522352.html
The commander of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine was once fond of using social media to boast about his fighters' victories -- large or small -- over Ukraine's military forces.
But as Kyiv has moved to surround the last bastions of rebel control, Igor Girkin, known by his nom-de-guerre, Strelkov, or "Shooter," seems to have soured.
With Moscow placing as many as 20,000 Russian military personnel along the border with eastern Ukraine, but so far resisting (http://www.rferl.org/contentlive/liveblog/25416257.html#liveblog40898) his call for a full-scale "peacekeeping" mission, Girkin is now lashing out at his own supporters for the military losses.
In a post on Vkontakte, Russia's most popular social network, the former military reenactor, whom Kyiv accuses of working for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), announced that Ukrainian forces had taken the strategically important town of Krasnyy Luch.
The self-proclaimed separatist republic of Donetsk is "fully surrounded" Girkin says, before tearing into a brigade of pro-Russian Cossacks.
"The Cossacks, keeping with tradition, ran," he says while facetiously congratulating them for recent defeats. "They are awaiting new great achievements. The brilliant Donetsk Cossack battle path has been marked by landmark achievements like [their] surrender of Krasnyy Lyman in one day, the surrender without a fight of Poposna, the surrender of Debaltseve, and the surrender without a fight of Fashchivka. Now Krasnyy Luch has joined the list. Hooray! We will wait for new achievements."
A map released by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council on August 9 shows the shrinking self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk now fully cut off from each other, but a Ukrainian military spokesman said he could not yet confirm that Krasnyy Luch is in Kyiv's hands
6647
More at link
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-rebels-military-situation-frustration-strelkov/26522352.html