The DPR Republican
Guard
(Russian: Республиканская
гвардия ДНР)
- Elite unit created by Alexander Zakharchenko on January 12, 2015. Commanded
by Major-general Ivan Kondratov, and is composed of six battalions that total
more than 3,000 fighters. I will post information about this Guard Unit from
several sources.
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://rg-dnr.info/page/o-gvardii
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-rebels-training-idUSKBN0LY1QY20150302
World
|
Pro-Russian rebels train
for more fighting despite Ukraine truce
DONETSK,
Ukraine |
A
ceasefire is broadly holding at last on the front line in eastern Ukraine, but
fighters in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk are training for another round
of clashes against government troops.
Honing
their skills under the eye of rebel commanders, fighters fired automatic
assault rifles, grenade launchers and even an anti-tank missile at targets
propped against a pile of earth and rock discarded from a nearby mine on
Sunday.
"We don't want this war", said Yegor, a commander of the squad, which is part of
the new Republican Guard created by the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk
People's Republic, Alexander Zacharchenko.
"But when we see what's happening on the other (Ukrainian) side
we're preparing for the worst".
Ukraine
and rebel leaders signed new Minsk peace accords on Feb. 12, agreeing to a ceasefire
and the withdrawal of heavy weapons on both sides of the 10-month long conflict
that has killed 6,000 people.
The
rebels initially flouted the peace agreement, spending the first days of the
ceasefire capturing the strategic transport hub of Debaltseve in violence that
reduced the town to a wasteland of destroyed homes and pock-marked roads.
Since
then the firing of heavy guns has slowed, and for several days last week
Ukraine reported no deaths at the hands of the pro-Russian rebels took up arms against
Kiev in April.
The
weekend was one of the quietest in weeks.
Kiev
says the rebels are using the truce to regroup and pulling out heavy weaponry
to prepare for more attacks on other areas of eastern Ukraine outside their
area of control, including the government-held port city of Mariupol.
"There are signs the enemy is preparing for further
offensives,"
military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on Sunday.
"Everywhere where the militants show that they are withdrawing
heavy weaponry, it is either simply to relocate (the armaments) where they are
planning attacks or remove them only to put them back in place the next
night," he told a
briefing.
A SPRAY OF ROCK AND DUST
The
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is monitoring the peace
accord, has said it needs details on where withdrawn weapons were being
transported and stored before it could confirm the pull-back.
The
rebels have denied planning any more attacks on Ukraine-held soil and say they
are training to defend themselves against Ukrainian troops they say have
invaded 'their land' and still fire at them from time to time.
Ukraine
has also stepped up training, aiming to turn the fledgling army into a
western-style fighting force with 250,000 military men and advisors from Britain.
Kiev
and the West say Russia has provided weapons and soldiers to support the rebels
- an accusation Moscow denies.
The
rebels insist their arms, even some of their most powerful weapons, are bounty
they have taken from the Ukrainians or left behind when government troops flee
their positions.
"Thank the Ukrops for the weapons they provided!" one of fighters shouted, using a
derogatory nickname for Ukrainian soldiers which means "dill" in
Russian, and fires a machine gun with a long belt of ammunition.
On
the heap of earth, Kalashnikov bullets sometimes miss the mark, sending up a
spray of rock and dust from the red mound located only a quarter of a mile from
a residential area of Donetsk, where children play among the sound of flying
bullets.
Rebels
also shot grenades from shoulder-launched RPGs. The climax of the two-hour long
training session was an anti-tank missile fired by a rebel named Alexander who
wore a white balaclava and fatigues throughout the training.
Asked
why only one missile was launched, a rebel in civilian clothing who gave his
name only as Andrei, answered: "Because each shot of it costs
$6,500".
Yegor,
the commander, said some fighters had just been recruited and could barely hit
the targets. He said others were brought to the training ground to ensure that
the newcomers followed safety rules like putting up their barrels when other
shooters rush to check if targets are hit.
"These guys have tried to shoot me more times than the other
side has," he said
and chuckled.
After
the training, fighters made sure they left behind no ammunition and climbed
into the back of a military truck. Only the long wooden case of the anti-tank
rocket remained lying on the withered grass.
"It's for a local guy. He wanted to use it to carry his fishing
rods", one of the
fighters explained as they drove away.
(Writing
by Thomas
Grove; editing by Philippa
Fletcher)
A solemn ceremony of presentation of a banner
in the Donetsk Command and General Staff College.
That’s a fledgling educational organization
for graduating top officers for motorised infantry, artillery and tank forces,
intelligence, as well as military psychology. There are 120 students, including
10 girls.
[PHOTO ALBUM SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1662446910659255&id=1595649227339024]
[YOUTUBE SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQRnL7uRvDA&feature=youtu.be]
|
В
Донецком военном училище прошла церемония вручения знамени
In the Donetsk Military Academy ceremony was held banners
A
solemn ceremony of presentation of a banner in the Donetsk Command and General
Staff College.
That’s
a fledgling educational organization for graduating top officers for motorised
infantry, artillery and tank forces, intelligence, as well as military
psychology. There are 120 students, including 10 girls.
[PHOTO
ALBUM SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1662446910659255&id=1595649227339024]
[YOUTUBE
SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQRnL7uRvDA&feature=youtu.be]
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