Ukraine crisis: Rebel fighters 'trained in Russia' [rebel leader]

BBC ^ | August 16, 2014

[1rudeboy]

The new rebel leader in east Ukraine's Donetsk region has said his forces include 1,200 fighters who underwent military training in Russia.

Addressing a meeting, Alexander Zakharchenko said the fighters had trained "four months on the territory of the Russian Federation".

The rebels, he said, had reserves of 150 combat vehicles, including tanks.

An earlier mistranslation of his words suggested Mr Zakharchenko had said the vehicles were on their way from Russia.

Russia has denied claims by Ukraine and Western reporters that military aid to the rebels has been crossing the border.

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Mr Zakharchenko, who became the prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) last week, made the announcement to the rebels' parliament on Friday, with a video of his speech (in Russian) posted on YouTube.

Littering the speech with military jargon, he said: "There are, at present, in the axis of the corridor [linking rebels in Donetsk with those in Luhansk and the Russian border] - there have been assembled -reserves of the following order: 150 units of military hardware of which about 30 are actual tanks and the rest are infantry fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers, and 1,200 personnel who underwent four months of military training on the territory of the Russian Federation."

The rebel leader went on a Russian pro-Kremlin TV channel on Saturday to reject reports that the hardware had come from Russia.

"The Ukrainian military have left us so much hardware that we can't find enough people to crew it - I mean tanks, troop carriers, Grad [multiple rocket] launchers and so on," he told Life News (video in Russian).

He added that "ethnic Ukrainian" volunteers from Russia, not servicemen, were fighting for the rebels, along with "Turks; a great many Serbs; Italians and Germans; and even two Romanians".

[GeronL]

Russia just delivered about 1,500 soldiers through that convoy. The whole idea they are “rebels” is laughable to me.

[ozzymandus]

I hope Ukraine wipes them out.

[DJ MacWoW]

Did You Know?

The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarter's Expenses?

Now That You Do, Donate And Keep FR Running

[elhombrelibre]

I keep getting amazed at how brazen Putin is, but I know one thing for sure. Whatever he does, there will be people on FReeRepublic claiming he’s their hero.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks 1rudeboy.

[Ivan Mazepa]

Crimea was 50-50 on joining Russia. But Donbas, it’s almost a certainty the majority doesn’t want Russia