Kyiv and the West are using a Malaysian Boeing to save the southern ATO group

Moscow - Kyiv, July 21 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - The troops encircled between the DPR and the Russian border could be saved by a truce on all sectors of the front, which is being called for in Kyiv and the West. But the militias understand this and support the truce only in the area where the plane wreckage fell. And the “war party” in Kyiv is using the tragedy to oust negative news from the media from the front.

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“The Boeing tragedy allowed the Ukrainian authorities to largely shift public attention to the downed plane and temporarily forget about the difficult situation that developed in the southern section of the ATO,” an analyst close to the Kyiv authorities told Kommersant. For almost a week now, things have not been as successful for the Ukrainian military as the command reports. The main problems arose precisely in that “southern sector”, where, as they hoped in Kyiv, the final victory would be ensured.

Troops are concentrated in this area, moving on the offensive to cut off the militias of Donetsk and Lugansk from the Russian border. At first, everything went well - the strike force moved forward, cutting off the militia forces from the border. But then the situation changed radically.

“The initiative passed to the separatists,” admits Kiev analyst Dmitry Dzhangirov. “To understand why, just look at the map. The ATO forces stretched out in a long “gut” between the territory controlled by the DPR and the Russian border. And they became an easy target for Strelkov’s mobile group. In addition, recently the separatists and the ATO forces in some areas have become almost equal in firepower. An example is the situation in the area of ​​the strategically important Saur-Mogila height. There is an intense artillery duel going on there, and the Ukrainian army has been unable to suppress enemy firing points for days.”

As a result of the actions of the militia, a Ukrainian group of 4-5 thousand people, trying to cut off the self-proclaimed republics from the border with the Russian Federation, actually found itself surrounded. “For the forces caught in the cauldron, sandwiched between Donetsk and Russia, a critical situation has arisen,” says Ukrainian political scientist Mikhail Pogrebinsky. “They are running out of ammunition, food and water. It is not possible to evacuate the surrounded soldiers or create a corridor to them - they have moved away from the main forces conducting the ATO.”

According to Kyiv military experts interviewed by Kommersant, a truce on all sectors of the front could save the encircled group. But militia commanders also understand this. And apparently, this is why they have so far refused all calls from the Ukrainian side and foreign mediators to conclude a long-term truce along the entire front. The most the militia agreed to was a local ceasefire in the Shakhtersk area, where the Malaysian airliner fell. This is another section of the front where the initiative in recent days belonged to Ukrainian troops, who were trying to divert the militia forces from the encircled “southern group.”

Harsh criticism of the ATO command in the media could undermine the position of the “war party”, which is putting strong pressure on Poroshenko, and provide additional arguments to those who are committed to a peaceful solution. But the death of Boeing became the number one topic for a long time, eclipsing all others. Almost no one in Kyiv remembers the surrounded group.