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Commander Givi murded

Prominent DPR Commander ‘Givi’
[Mikhail Tolstykh] killed in Eastern Ukraine

The legendary commander of the Somali battalion of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Mikhail Tolstykh, popular with his nickname “Givi” has been killed in his office in Donetsk.

The first reports from Russian media have suggested that an explosive detonated and killed Givi. The DPR officials have labeled it as a “terrorist act” and that they’ll do everything possible to find the ones behind the assault. The news comes as the self-proclaimed republics of DPR and LPR have been witnessing the largest military activities since the signing of the Minsk-2 agreement.

Givi is yet another victim of such assault as earlier this week LPR’s colonel Oleg Anashtenko died in a similar case when his car was blown up.

In October 2016, another legendary commander, Aresen Pavlov “Motorola”, was killed in an explosion in his home. (more here and here)

Although it’s early to conclude anything, the fact that such a high rank officer of the DPR was killed in his office signals that there are internal problems in the break-away republic. Also, Givi’s death will demotivate the army of DPR, or at least the one of his battalion as we’ve seen with the “Ghost brigade” of LPR after the death of their commander Alexsey Mozgovoy.

Car Blast in Lugansk Kills Republic’s Senior Commander

A terrorist attack in the capital of the Lugansk People’s Republic in Donbass on Saturday killed two people including the chief of the LPR People’s Militia Office.

“The car of the chief of the LPR People’s Militia Office, Oleg Anashchenko, exploded… There were two people in the car, both are dead. According to the preliminary data, one of them is Anashchenko,” the police press service said.

The blast occurred at about 7:50 a.m. local time (05:50 GMT) and the investigation is currently underway, the People’s Militia’s press service specified.

Later, the police press service confirmed the death of colonel Anashchenko, classifying the explosion as a terrorist attack.

“Chief of LPR People`s Militia Office Col. Oleg Anashchenko was killed today in a terrorist attack,” Maj. Andrei Marochko, the militia department spokesman, said at a press briefing.

The LPR security forces suspect that the terrorist act was committed by the Kiev special forces to destabilize the situation in the region.

“Despite that, Kiev punishers will not break the spirit of the warriors of the People’s Militia. We will find the orchestrators and perpetrators of this heinous terrorist attack, and they will get the punishment they deserve,” Marochko added.

He extended condolences to the family of the deceased on behalf of the People’s Militia Office.

The situation in Donbass has escalated over the past few days, in particular near the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, where clashes between Kiev forces and the troops of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have intensified. The conflicting parties have both accused each other of initiating the violence.

A spokesperson of the DPR’s Office of Ombudsman said on Friday that over 30 people have been killed and more than 80 others, including 47 civilians, have been injured in the republic as a result of violence this year.

On October 16, a blast in an elevator killed a prominent commander of the Donetsk People’s Republic colonel Arseniy Pavlov (call sign Motorola). The Donetsk authorities accused Kiev of masterminding the murder.

In May, a top military commander of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Alexei Mozgovoi, was assassinated by unknown gunmen when his car ran into an ambush.

The Donbass conflict erupted in April 2014 as a local counter-reaction to the West-sponsored Maidan coup in Kiev that had toppled legitimate President Viktor Yanukovych in February. Residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held independence referendums and proclaimed the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Kiev has since been conducting a military operation, encountering stiff local resistance.In February 2015, Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Despite the agreement, the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.

Donbass investigators prove involvement of Ukrainian secret services in Commander Givi’s murder

(DONETSK, added after February 10/2017, TASS) ~ Investigative agencies of the self-proclaimed unrecognized Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have proved collaboration between the Ukrainian secret services and a number of individuals involved in the assassination of Mikhail Tolstykh, the commander of the Somalia battalion of the Donbass self-defense guard who was more broadly known under the nick Givi, the DPR operational command said on Thursday.

from February 2015:

Motorola & Givi awarded with Golden Stars of Heroes of DPR

[eng subs]
New details of assassination attempt on Givi
[interview with Givi]

The Donetsk News Agency quoted the command as saying two versions of Givi’s death were under consideration at the moment. Number one suggested the use of a Shmel antipersonnel flamethrower and the second, demolition of an explosive.

Donbass pays the last tribute to “Givi”
DONi Press Video Report

Eduard Basurin, the official spokesman for the DPR operational command said earlier he was confident Givi’s assassination had been steered by the Ukrainian secret services. He also said he did not rule out a possible involvement of Zoryan Shkiryak, an advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Minister in the operation to eliminate the intrepid commander.

How Was Legendary Donetsk Commander Givi Assasinated?
Shmel, Man-portable Rocket Launcher

Givi, 36 at the time of his death, was killed on February 8 by a shot from a Shmel antipersonnel flamethrower. He was buried at the same cemetery as another famous commander of the Donbass self-defense forces, Arsen Pavlov (nicked Motorola) who was killed in the night hours of October 16 inside his house in Donetsk. Their graves are located close to each other.

Donetsk republic authorities called a three-day morning in connection with his death.

The Office of the Donetsk republic’s Main Military Prosecutor ordered a criminal investigation of the assassination.

Serbia: DPR commander ‘Givi’ honoured with giant mural in Novi Sad

RELATED:

Ukraine applies weapons of mass destruction in Donbass

RELATED:

Ukrainian tanks stand in the yard of an apartment block in Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine
© AP PHOTO/ EVGENIY MALOLETKA

Putin Explains Three Reasons
Behind Ukraine Crisis Aggravation

“The first reason is that the Ukrainian leadership needs money. And it is better to ask the EU, European states, the US and international institutes for money presenting itself as a victim of aggression,” Putin explained.

“During the pre-election campaign in the United States, current Ukrainian authorities one-sidedly supported one of the candidates. Moreover, some tycoons financed this female candidate (to be precise) supposedly with the approval of the political leadership,” Putin continued.

“The third reason [for the resumed fighting in Donbass] is an internal one. Amid [Kiev’s] obvious failures in its social and economic policies, [Ukrainian] opposition intensified its activity. It should be hushed up by mobilizing the population around the acting leadership. It’s easier to achieve this goal amid the resuming of a conflict,” Putin said.

Putin also said that “as for the escalation [in Donbass], our position is well-known: it was provoked by the Ukrainian side. Last Friday, the fighting began. On Sunday, the so-called Ukrainian volunteer battalions gained control over one of the strongholds of the opposition and entered territory controlled by militia. On Sunday, their attack was repelled.” …[…read more…]…

RELATED:

Is Ukraine Prepared to Assassinate 50,000 People in Donetsk?

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is the likely culprit behind the recent assassination of famed DPR commander Givi. (The SBU denies the accusation, blaming internal disputes for Givi’s murder.)

We hate to rush to judgment, but our bet is on the SBU, despite their formidable defense (“the Russians did it!”).

Approximately 50,000 people attended Givi’s funeral in Donetsk (RFE/RL says the number is closer to 2,000, of course). In the west, the conflict in East Ukraine is usually described as a war between Ukraine and “Russian-backed rebels” or “Russian-back separatists”. But Ukraine does not even respect the people of Donbass enough to refer to them as “rebels”. They are terrorists…[…read more…]…

RELATED:

SOURCES:
South Front
Sputnik News
Tass News Agency
Submitted by SyrianPatriot
War Press Info Network at :
https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/donbass-commanders-killed/
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