Urgent Statement/Interview by Igor Strelkov:
“Immediate and Widescale Assistance from Russia is Needed”
source: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s25glb
by Alexander Kots and Dmitry Steshin
translated into English by Gleb Bazov
original: http://m.kp.ru/daily/26243.5/3124972/
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQWwdAyyMJs
The Commander in Chief of the DPR militia believes that, if Moscow does
not intervene, the self-defence units will be unable to withstand [the
onslaught] of the Ukrainian army.
The Commander in Chief of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s militia told
us about the massive artillery shelling of the residential
neighbourhoods of Kramatorsk and offered an unpromising prognosis.
- Right now you are hearing explosions, the enemy is shelling the
outskirts of Slavyansk and the city of Kramatorsk with several batteries
of heavy howitzer artillery. The massive strikes are directed
exclusively at the residential neighbourhoods and industrial complexes.
While Slavyansk has, by now, become accustomed to constant, unending,
daily, and nightly artillery strikes, in Kramatorsk there is now a state
of panic. For the first time, apartment buildings and private houses
there have been hit with heavy ammunitions. There are fires, explosions,
a multitude of dead and wounded. This is being done to show all the
cities of Donbass exactly what will happen to them in the future. They
have [nearly] obliterated Slavyansk. Almost half the city’s population
has fled to Russia. Now they will obliterate Kramatorsk, and Kramatorsk
is larger than Slavyansk. We will end up with another several tens of
thousands of refugees, the major part of which will end up in Russia. As
far as I am aware, Russia is entirely unready to receive tens, hundreds
thousands, and then millions of refugees. After Kramatorsk will follow
Druzhkovka, Konstantinovka, Gorlovka, Makeevka, Donetsk, Lugansk, and
then – everywhere else. We can see [perfectly well] how the Ukrainian
army acts. They do not strike at the positions of the militia, [they
strike] at the infrastructure. They promise to grant passage to the
repair brigades, and then they shoot at them. They claim that we hit our
own schools and water-purification facilities. As if we do it all, like
terrorists, while they have nothing to do [with this destruction].
A brief prognosis. The enemy has transferred its main infantry and tank
forces to the north of the Lugansk oblast and to the south of the
Donetsk [oblast]. Each day they advance by 10-15 kilometres,
methodically cutting off the “rebellious” regions from the border with
Russia. Cutting [us] off from any and all help. [Cutting us off] from
arms and ammunitions, which, hypothetically, could someday be supplied,
from food and medicines. I can assure you that, if Russia does not take
immediate steps, they will achieve success.
Even the several thousand militia, which are now concentrated along the
border, armed with several tanks, a few artillery pieces, and perhaps
even a large number of machine guns and grenade launchers, will be
unable to withstand for a long time the aviation, artillery, and the
multitude of tanks. The ration of tanks can be estimated at 1 to 500, of
APCs – 1 to 300, and of artillery – 1 to 800. There is no point to even
mention the aviation. A week, two, three, maybe even a month, will pass
and the most battle-ready detachments of the militia will be bled dry
and, sooner or later, will be routed and eliminated. This, how the enemy
is acting, we have observed in Mariupol. They surrounded the city,
blocked it with checkpoints, using their equipment, and cut it off from
any possibility of help. After that, their punitive units entered. These
special units, composed of the so-called volunteers, who, in reality,
are mercenaries, the Azov, Donbass and other [such battalions]. Once
done, they clean-up the city of the few militia there and move on to the
next city. And, meanwhile, a garrison is moved into this city, which
takes up key positions, routes all the “malcontents,” and places them in
filtration camps. … That is what awaits us.
Now let’s talk about the social debate, where two alternatives are
offered: a full-scale war and non-interference in the affairs of
Novorossiya. What this non-interference represents is – inculcation into
the Russian society of a belief that the local Russians, by themselves
and without Russia’s help, will be able to defend Novorossiya, repel the
enemy’s onslaught and hold for as long as may be necessary. So as to
give Russia time to make some kind of decision. The second alternative
is a belief that the commencement of war is not in Russia’s interest,
that it will lead to serious economic consequences. I can say this: the
war that is, even now, already ongoing, will end for Russia disastrously
in an economic sense. Russia will suffer economically from this war
because it did not intervene in time, did not introduce peacekeeping
forces. [Russia] could have occupied the entire Donetsk and Lugansk
regions when they rose up against the adversary. It could have been done
painlessly right after the referenda. But Russia did not [intervene]
and from that moment on we started to lose ground.
As it now stands, a peacekeeping intervention is impossible without
engaging in a large-scale war, without aviation strikes, without
artillery fire, without an incursion with tanks, without a partial
mobilization of the Russian army. I will tell you honestly, we are
biding time, we are mobilizing our paltry resources and people. But we
cannot catch up to the enemy. Some think that the Ukrainian army will
fall apart, should you only spit at it. It will fall apart once it meets
a counterpart able to match it at least part-way. But what we have here
is not even a fight between David and Goliath, it’s [an encounter]
between an elephant and an ant. An ant can cause lots of pain biting an
elephant. But even an old and sick elephant will crush an ant. Even if
its legs buckle, the elephant will crush it with its sheer mass. It
should not be forgotten that the enemy receives economic, financial and
military aid from all of Europe and the United States. The hryvna floats
after two month of war not because it’s a stable currency. This is just
ridiculous. How could anyone think that we can stand our ground [when
our enemy receives] such massive support? Yes, we can hold Slavyansk a
month, maybe a month and a half, but sooner or later they will still
eliminate us. We cannot transfer our garrison to another city without
abandoning this territory. We can organize five Slavyansks, which will
be encircled and eliminated, together with their populations. There is
only one alternative to war or complete abandonment of Novorossiya –
immediate de facto recognition of Novorossiya and Donetsk and Lugansk
People’s Republics and the provision of real, large-scale and urgent
military assistance to them. I am addressing Russia as a Commander in
Chief of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s militia and as a patriot of
Russia and the Russian people. You can take it as a address from the
name of [the entire] Donetsk militia.
Now, as for the tactical situation report. At this time, there are five
howitzer batteries of the enemy near Slavyansk. They are comprised of
twenty full-fledged heavy artillery pieces, with calibers ranging from
122 mm and larger. Four to five mortar batteries, with calibers 120 mm
and 80 mm. The enemy has fortified its positions well, and its infantry
numbers exceed ours. Furthermore, the enemy forces at each of its
checkpoints equal our garrisons in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk combined.
And I mean our entire garrisons. I am not even raising the equipment’s
functional state. We have not even one tank. The enemy has them at each
checkpoint. There are six tanks at their checkpoint near the turn onto
Krasniy Liman. If I were to send the militia to assault this checkpoint,
they would be hit with mortar fire in open field before even getting
there. And then, from up high, the [enemy] aviation would bomb them,
then the howitzer fire, and then the tanks would crush them. And what
we’ll get is [a repetition of the battle] at the Donetsk airport, except
with even higher casualties. When the militia, bled dry, would retreat
to their starting positions, they would have no means not only to
advance, but also to defend. And this breakdown is the same on every
front. We can bite the enemy, we can attack from the flanks, we can
operate in sabotage-intelligence groups and destroy 1-2 armoured
elements a day. All made possible solely by the heroism of the fighters,
who can penetrate into the enemy’s deep rear and hit him point-blank.
But heroism alone, armed with light arms, grenade launchers and several
mortars, cannot change the balance of the battle. We can only defend.
Unfortunately, the enemy has superiority over us on every section of the
battlefield. There are rumours that we have armoured vehicles, tanks.
Never are there more lies than during war and fishing. I know that
Alexander Mozgovoi conducted a good operation, seized some trophies,
destroyed a few others. But all this is peanuts. The enemy can replace
any number of destroyed or seized equipment from the endless Soviet
reserves. And we don’t even have a secure rear for repairing armoured
elements, we have no spare parts or supllies. One APC cannot stand
against 20-30. And even the three old, aged tanks, which were, with
great difficulty, restored in Gorlovka, even these three tanks cannot
match thirty. Or, rather, sixty, ninety tanks. Ukrainian tanks can be
counted in the hundreds. We won’t even speak about the Su-25 flying
overhead – we do shoot them down, from time to time, but they maintain
full superiority in the air.
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Urgent Appeal from Igor Strelkov, June 16, 2014
source: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s25fbk
Translated From Russian
Original: http://summer56.livejournal.com/155186.html
The enemy is engaged in massive bombardment of Kramatorsk, using
howitzers at the Karachun Mount and in the vicinity of water
purifications facilities between Slavyansk and Kramatorsk (they have a
stronghold there).
There are numerous casualties and fires in the city. They are bombarding
both the industrial sector and the residential neighbourhoods. The
population is in a state of panic – [to date,] Kramatorsk had not
experienced such massive artillery shelling.
What is more, militia objects have been spared – the strikes are not
against them. Why, you ask? The answer is elementary – in order to force
tens of thousands of refugees to flood into Russia. Genocide and ethnic
cleansing in their purest form.
I have decided to offer up to universal review a text from my personal
correspondence (as appropriately amended). I ask that you distribute it.
It is no longer possible to keep silent, hoping that someone “on the
mainland” “comes to his senses.”
As I have become accustomed to anticipate events several steps ahead, I
am in a state of utter “prostration.” The observable destruction of the
economy and the population I anticipated even a month and a half ago,
and, in order to avoid it, called then for a peacekeeping intervention.
It is now too late – peacekeepers will not be able to intervene without a
battle. Now I am calling for the provision of IMMEDIATE AND WIDESCALE
MILITARY ASSISTANCE. But no assistance has come.
In a week or two (and possibly earlier) a substantial part of the
military detachments of DPR and LPR may be completely routed. The reason
is the insurmountable ratio in heavy weaponry …
And when Donetsk and Lugansk are completely blocked and surrounded, like
Slavyansk, the following question will rear its head – either Russia
will:
1) commit to intervention with full force (an intervention the Ukies are openly provoking); or,
2) completely abandon Novorossiya (a possibility [the Ukies] are dearly hoping for).
And I am not at all sure that this dilemma will be resolved via the first option. More likely than not, it will be the opposite.
We can burn down even a hundredd APCs and kill even five thousand
troops, but the overall balance of forces will hardly change. Well, for
example, the [manpower] ratio will become 1 to 14 instead of 1 to 15 …
Every day we are forced to relinquish another large settlement – we have
neither the men nor the guns to defend them. At the same time, we have
no ability to retake any of them – because we have nothing to match the
Ukie’s heavy weaponry. All we can do is engage them in defence more or
less successfully.
So, what reason is there for optimism? From our own minor successes?
They are purely tactical. And, meanwhile, we have long ago started
losing the strategic engagement.
I see open sabotage in the approach taken by the Russian officials at
the highest-level in relation to Novorossiya. It shows in everything. I
dare say that [this sabotage] is fully conscious. Otherwise, there is no
explanation for the fact that DPR and LPR have yet to be recognized
even de facto and that they receive no supplies of such badly needed
weapons and equipment.
Yes, Putin has effectively disavowed (and I wonder – at whose
suggestion?) the pledges of standing ready to protect the Russian
civilian population of Donbass. NO ALTERNATIVE WHATSOEVER HAS BEEN
PROPOSED. If there is no military aid – the military defeat of DPR and
LPR is inevitable.
Whether [this defeat] comes a week earlier or a month later does not
matter. The enemy will cut us off from the border and will methodically
suffocate us, “cleansing” the territory in the process and, in one go,
forcing out into Russia a million or two of utterly deprived and
embittered refugees (I trust the consequences for the economy and the
social sphere are obvious).
And then, groups of “grateful oligarchs” will come to Putin with
sorrowful faces and offer as their spokesperson the “great schemer”
Surkov, who will explain, in a quiet and insinuating voice, that: “We
did everything that we could, but these … these good-for-nothing Donetsk
bandits themselves failed it all themselves, and we can give them no
help without risking nuclear war … They punished themselves … It is not
worth it to take a risk … We need to persevere … We will make everything
right in time … It is possible to negotiate with Poroshenko … This is a
tactical retreat … We are not ready to go to war … After all, we took
Crimea, didn’t we? …” and so on and suchlike.
What this will mean for our company – I know already. Most of us will
perish, but that is not the issue – this uprising and all the victims
will be in vain, and the “Russian Spring” will be eliminated at the root
by the “Ukrainian Freeze.”
And the next war, the war that we will not witness, will be on Russia’s territory – right after the “Moscow Maidan,” of course …