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| Four of the soldiers. Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. |
International reporters have increasingly reported seeing heavy weapons from Russia move into Ukraine in recent weeks.
VDV Prisoners
The ten prisoners appear to be paratroopers (VDV) of various ranks from the 331st Regiment of the 98th "Svirsk" Airborne Division, stationed in Kostroma. The soldiers say that they were told they would be going on a training exercise.Representatives of the Ukrainian military claimed to have been in combat with VDV weeks ago. VDV usually fight on the ground, from armored vehicles, and are considered to be elite relative to the rest of the Russian military. These particular prisoners do not appear very highly motivated: one is quoted as saying "we've come as cannon fodder." The statement may have been made under duress. If they were patrolling the border, as the Russian government claims, this is the first time in history that VDV have been used in that role.
Mariupol: Invasion
The fighting in eastern Ukraine seems to have intensified recently. Ukrainian representatives say that Russian forces have launched an offensive towards Mariupol, south of Donetsk, one of the separatists' two strongholds. If there is fighting near Mariupol, which does appear to be the case, then it's not the separatists. Mariupol was recaptured by the Ukrainian government in June. In August, OSCE observers reported that the area was stable.
Peace talks in Minsk are becoming less and less likely to succeed in ending the violence. Between 2,000 and 2,500 people have died in the fighting so far, and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced.
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