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Statements from Igor Strelkov
Dear
friends,
I
just want to express a heartfelt "THANK YOU!!" to Gleb
Bazov for translating all these statements and for submitting them
for publication on this blog. Whatever opinion any one of us has of
Strelkov, he is for sure one of the most important and interesting
actors in this war and one which the corporate media tries hard to
ignore. Without the work of people like Gleb Bazov Strelkov's views
would never get any kind of exposure in the English-speaking world
(except on RT, of course). So I am very grateful to Gleb for his
most important and difficult work!
The
Saker
-------
BRIEFING
FROM IGOR STRELKOV, June 20, 2006, 11:19
Translated
From Russian by Gleb Bazov
In
the course of the night, the Slavyansk garrison continued to receive
detachments and individual fighters that broke through the
encirclement in the region of Yampol. As of this moment,
approximately half of the detachments have returned.
According
to some reports, the strike force of the enemy in yesterday’s [June
19, 2014] battle was comprised of foreign PMC [Private Military
Corporation] fighters, armed with Western-manufactured small arms,
including Bull-Pap assault rifles. The mercenaries suffered heavy
casualties.
At
this time, the city of Slavyansk remains under DPR militia control.
The enemy is conducting artillery strikes of the militia positions in
the vicinity of Lisichansk. Aviation and ground assault jets of the
enemy are conduction airstrikes. There has been no change to the
enemy positions around Slavyansk. The enemy is placing landmines on
the outskirts of the city and conducting artillery strikes against
civilian districts.
Four
civilians were killed and 21 were wounded over the course of the last
24 hours. Our intelligence reports ongoing transfers of Ukrainian
forces and foreign mercenaries in the direction of the city of
Donetsk.
BRIEFING
FROM IGOR STRELKOV, June 20, 2006, 12:32
Translated From Russian by Gleb Bazov
The
enemy is unfolding its forces for a simultaneous assault on
Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. Three are groups of enemy forces near
Kramatorsk: in the west (from the direction of Sergeevka), at
Karachun (from the direction of Yasnogorka) and at Malinovka. There
is also a significant concentration of [enemy] forces and equipment
in the vicinity of the Slavyansk city sign (“Slavyansk stella”).
Only thing that is unclear is where exactly they will strike. It is
possible that [the enemy will strike] against the Cherevkovka village
(on the outskirts of Slavyansk).
On
the Nikolayevka side, there is a column or armoured vehicles
approximately 3 kilometres in length. Their direction is toward
Nikolayevka-Semyonovka-Slavyansk. Mmm-hmm … we are like a bone
stuck in their throat. They threw everything, so as to deal with as
in a “grown-up” fashion. We are ready for an attack. It’s a
pity only that our forces are minimal at best.
BRIEFING
FROM IGOR STRELKOV, June 20, 2014, 14:10
Translated From Russian by Gleb Bazov
If
our sources in Izyum are to be trusted, the number of wounded, that
were relocated there or sent to Kharkov after this battle, exceeds
300 men. However, I cannot guarantee this information – [it came to
us] by way of the gossip mill.
On
the other hand, the numbers publicized by the Ukie media may well be
right. Our losses in dead and wounded are approximately half of [the
enemy losses] – our battalion was not destroyed, merely dispersed.
It is now slowly coming together again. Once they are all back, our
irretrievable losses will become clear. For now, there are 15 wounded
in the hospital. They were evacuated in the first hours of the battle
and at the end.
BRIEFING
FROM IGOR STRELKOV, June 20, 2014, 16:32
In
answer to: “What happened to the morning advance of the Ukrainian
forces?”
Translated
From Russian by Gleb Bazov
Original:
http://icorpus.ru/otvet-strelkova-na-vopros-chem-zakonchilas-utrennee-vydvizhenie-pravitelstvennyx-vojsk-20-06-2014-1623/
They
turned around and left, all of them. Our battle group (from
Lisichansk) has again occupied Yampol – those fighters that were
unable to break through across the bridges to the south shore are now
returning as well. They are taking up their previous positions.
I
am glad that the appeal to Russia was not left unanswered – the
mere movement of Russian forces toward the border stopped the Ukies’
attempt to break through to our rear.
BRIEFING
FROM IGOR STRELKOV, June 20
In
answer to: “Do you have accounts in social networks?”
Translated
From Russian by Gleb Bazov
Original:
http://icorpus.ru/otvet-strelkova-na-vopros-est-li-u-vas-akkaunty-v-socialnyx-setyax-20-06-2014-1631/
No,
I have none.
Briefing
from Igor Strelkov, June 20, 2014, 18:20
Translated
From Russian by Gleb Bazov
Contrary
to our expectations, by noon our intelligence revealed a retreat of
the main forces of the enemy from the vicinity of the Krivaya Luka
settlement back to Kirovsk. The intelligence unit of the Lisichansk
battalion conducted a clean-up of the location at the site of
yesterday’s [June 19, 2014] battle. Thus, [they] discovered an
enemy “BMP” APC that was hit yesterday. The APC was towed back to
Lisichansk for repairs.
In
order to avoid possible breakthroughs of [enemy] heavy armoured
vehicles toward Seversk, the bridge in the Zakotnoye village, across
the Severskiy Donets river, was blown up. The bridge in the Krivaya
Luka settlement was taken under control by the militia.
At
this time, we are in the process of gathering the personnel of the
Krasniy Liman detachment. The goal is to regroup and retake prior
positions.
Minor
gunfire and skirmishes occurred in the vicinity of Slavyansk and
Kramatorsk. The enemy continues to conduct artillery strikes against
Semyonovka and also to reinforce and place landmines around its
positions near these cities.
We
are continuing to observe the movement of [armoured vehicles] in the
vicinity of Donetsk. They are headed toward the city and toward the
border with the Rostov oblast [Russian Federation].
In
the first half of the day, Ukrainian aviation patrolled the region of
Gorlovka, searching for land targets. We have not received any
information that any such targets were hit.
Igor
Strelkov’s Interview, June 20, 2014
Strelkov:
“I am glad that our appeal to Russia for help did not go unheard.”
Commentary to the Events of June 19 and 20
Translated
From Russian by Gleb Bazov
Original:
http://zavtra.ru/content/view/strelkov-rad-chto-prizyiv-o-pomoschi-k-rossii-ne-ostalsya-neuslyishannyim/
- also Rusvesna.su
Q:
Various Ukrainian mass media outlets published information about the
losses of the [Ukrainian] punitive forces, and [according to them]
the total figure is approximately 35 dead and 40 wounded.
A:
If our sources in Izyum are to be trusted, the number of wounded,
that were relocated there or sent to Kharkov after this battle,
exceeds 300 men. However, I cannot guarantee this information – [it
came to us] by way of the gossip mill. On the other hand, the numbers
publicized by the Ukie media may well be right. Our losses in dead
and wounded are approximately half of [the enemy losses] – our
battalion was not destroyed, merely dispersed. It is now slowly
coming together again. Once they are all back, our irretrievable
losses will become clear. For now, there are 15 wounded in the
hospital. They were evacuated in the first hours of the battle and at
the end.
Q:
What happened to the morning advance of the government forces? Are
they still standing in columns, or have they been turned around to go
hunt the tank forces [of the Novorossiya Armed Forces (“NAF”)]?
A:
They turned around and left, all of them. Our battle group (from
Lisichansk) has again occupied Yampol – those fighters that were
unable to break through across the bridges to the south shore are now
returning as well. They are taking up their previous positions. I am
glad that the appeal to Russia was not left unanswered – the mere
movement of Russian forces toward the border eliminated the Ukies’
attempt to break through to our rear.
Q:
What is the status of the preparations to repel the Ukrainian army’s
assault on Slavyansk?
A:
The situation has changed dramatically. In the morning, we were
preparing to repel a decisive attack, and now … I won’t tell you
what we are preparing to do … (smiling).
Q:
Igor Ivanovich, can you please comment Valeriy Bolotov’s statement
about the urgent subordination to the Lugansk Republic of Alexey
Mozgovoi’s units?
A:
Mozgovoi is subordinated to the headquarters of the DPR (“Donetsk
People’s Republic”) militia. And, for a long time now, he has
been fighting in close coordination with [our forces]. Successfully
fighting. His weapons and ammunition supplies come from us. In this
case, Bolotov is engaged in misplaced parochialism.
Q:
Igor Ivanovich, would you please explain what is being done with
respect to the apparent disunity of the [militia] detachments? Is
anyone trying to solve this dilemma, trying to organize unified
headquarters of LPR (“Lugansk People’s Republic”) and DPR under
the command of a single Commander-in-Chief?
A:
What is there to explain? Even in DPR we have no single [unified]
headquarters. And you are asking that there be one for two republics
… When the time is right, there will be. An army should be
commanded by a single person, who is both a military professional and
an experienced administrator. I am hoping that some volunteer general
with combat experience and combined arms leadership [skills], able to
build high-level contacts with Russian colleagues comes to our aid.
Otherwise, this guerilla warfare will last a very long time.
Translated
From Russian by Gleb Bazov
I
cannot offer any commentary about Izvarino [Note: a Russian
checkpoint on the Ukrainian border that came under artillery shelling
by the Ukrainian troops].
All
night and day we have been subjected to [enemy] mortar shelling
against Semyonovka and Cherevkovka. According to our intelligence,
the Ukies continue to bring ammunition and landmines to Karachun
Mount. In large quantities.
The
roads leading into Slavyansk have been tightly blocked. Feverish
reinforcements with personnel and equipment have been noted at all
[enemy] checkpoints.
BRIEFING
FROM IGOR STRELKOV, June 21, 2014, 19:31
Translated
From Russian by Gleb Bazov
Original:
http://rusvesna.su/news/1403364672
Near
Zakotnoye, in a short battle, detachments comprised of personnel of
the Lisichansk battalion of A. Mozgovoi destroyed the vanguard unit
of the enemy. Two "BTR" APCs were eliminated (burned down).
The remnants of the vanguard unit - a tank and a third "BTR"
APC - hurriedly departed in the direction of Zakotnoye, where the
enemy is concentrating major forces.
On
the outskirts of Slavyansk, there are sporadic shooting engagements.
No artillery has been heard since noon. Except that, from time to
time, they throw a landmine or two [mortar ammo] toward the
beleaguered Slavyansk.
We
have confirmation that a major unit of an English-speaking PMC
(Private Military Contractor) has been quartered in Karpovka (on the
north-eastern borders of the town).
June
21st Novorossia News Bulletin by the ANNA news agency
Op-ed from the Saker
Why Novorussian authorities need to get their act together
21
June, 2014
We
already had the somewhat "bipolar" statements of Igor
Strelkov who could go from "we are about to win" to "they
are about to exterminate us" in 24 hours and then back.
Still, looking at his videos he looked tremendously stressed and
frustrated and, what is really a major issue in such situation, he
looked severely sleep deprived. He also clearly was trying to
wake up the semi-comatose part of the Novorussian population which
preferred to stay home and either let Strelkov's men die for them
or, if all else fails, they hoped for Russia's Polite Armed Men in
Green to liberate them. So, if anything, I feel sympathy for
Strelkov who, after all, is a military commander, not a professional
spokesman. But then a truly incredible piece of news began
popping up all over the Internet: the NDF had taken a major military
base with 221 tanks, 228 APCs, 12 Self-Propelled guns, 18
Grad launchers, 183 IFVs, and 12 Mortars.
Wow! I even
saw an article claiming that the NDF was now in the process
of forming
an tank division (nevermind
that there is a lot more to a tank division than just tanks).
Tank division or not, if true this was truly fantastic news. The
information came from "chief of the information section of the
southeastern front", Konstantine Knyrik, it was picked up by
Interfax and made its way to other news outlets (including ANNA
news). A day later the
press service of the Donetsk People's Republic denied this
information.
In fact, it appears that not only did the NDF not get such a
fantastic arsenal - they did not even take the military base from
which supposedly this arsenal came from: the Ukies had successfully
repelled their attack.
Fog of war or no fog of war - this is a real problem, in my opinion.
All it takes is just *one* such embarrassing situations to shoot down in flames the credibility of all the information coming out of the resistance forces in Novorossia. And again, I will point out to Hezbollah as the perfect example of a successful information policy: as Hassan Nasrallah himself explained in a speech last year, Hezbollah might not always reveal all that it knows, but it will never lie. Never. Hezbollah announces its defeats as well as its victories. It even admits when it does a mistake. And this remarkable policy - especially in the Middle-East - gives Hezbollah a huge capital of credibility, even with the Israelis.
There is another example which the NDF and the authorities of Novorossia might want to pay attention to.
Yesterday evening I was watching a recorded experts panel basically discussing the viability of a Donetsk and Luganks People's Republic or Novorossia. The panel included mostly Russian experts, but a number of Novorossian officials were also invited. One of the panelist asked the Novorussians what they were doing to help those whose houses were being destroyed by Ukie shelling. The reply was: "we are actively discussing the issue". At which point, the moderator jumped in and said "stop discussing and help these people now!"
During the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006 Hezbollah had an amazing policy: as soon as the bombs/shells stopped falling out of the sky, a truck with a group of Hezbollah young men would pull up and offer each family whose house had been destroyed three options: a) we rebuild your house b) we give you the money to rebuilt your house c) we help you relocate. The most interesting thing is that Hezbollah did that with all families regardless of whether they were Christians or Muslims and regardless of their political affiliations! Your house is lost - Hezbollah will help you out. Period. And before I get accused of parroting Hezbollah propaganda, I know about this from a (non-Lebanese and non-Muslim) friend who happened to be in south Lebanon during the war (I never read about this anywhere). This friend told me that Hezbollah had developed these policies many years ago during the various shelling and bombing campaigns the Israelis regularly engaged in.
And let me preempt the argument that Hezbollah is awash with Iranian money. So? The NDF should be (and probably is) awash with Russian money. Ditto for the argument that Hezbollah had it easy compared to the Novorussians: not so, Hezbollah was born during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and it was primarily representing the interests of the poorest Lebanese, not the fact cat millionaires a la Hariri & Co, and most of the original Hezbollah members were rather young and inexperienced. So no, Hezbollah happened in very hard conditions and while Iran and Syrian did help, they did not do the job for the locals Lebanese patriots.
Hezbollah's example is highly relevant to the Novorussian situation because it shows that what a resistance movement need is what I would call a "holistic" approach to resistance. Yes, the military aspect is important (and Hezbollah is probably the most formidable guerrilla force on the planet), but the resistance effort must include a professionally run public/media information service, a smart fund-raising campaign. Do you remember when you could "buy" one Katusha-rocket for $10'000 on the Internet which Hezbollah would then guarantee would be "delivered" on Israeli positions? They also offered a rifle for a combatant, a full equipment set for a combatant and even 1 AK-74 bullet for $1 if I remember correctly. And money came pouring in! They also developed a computer-based RPG (role playing game) in which the player could play the role of a Hezbollah fighter. The invented many such schemes and did not only rely on Iranian money. Just imagine if such "purchases" were made available on the Russian Internet: "for $1000 you can "buy" an RPG round which will be shot at a National Guard target, for $100 dollars we will shot a mortar round at the Ukies, $10 will buy you a sniper shot and $1 an AK round" - the money would flow in in minutes because it would give Russians in Russia a way to feel like they are doing something useful, that they are participating to the struggle against the Fascists and their death-squads. By the way, there is already a precedent: during the wars in Chechnia, Russian businesses sponsored entire units, including elite ones: the businesses would give them all the money needed to get the best and latest gear in exchange simple for a heartfelt "thank you" from these units. Local OMON and SOBR units often had such corporate sponsors who then could count on the support of these units in case of problems with the local mobsters.
These are just a few examples of how creative one can get with some out of the box thinking. Again, Hezbollah set the gold-standard in this kind of business.
But first and foremost, the Novorussian authorities need to make it clear to the population that voting for independence is not enough - they need to also fight for it. This is what Strelkov clearly tried to do, but this has to be the job of a professional PR person, not an exhausted battle commander. I am sure that with time the Novorussians will do better, but they need to learn fast as Novorussia is still not anywhere near its real resistance potential and people are dying because of this "less than full scale" resistance.
The Saker
Fog of war or no fog of war - this is a real problem, in my opinion.
All it takes is just *one* such embarrassing situations to shoot down in flames the credibility of all the information coming out of the resistance forces in Novorossia. And again, I will point out to Hezbollah as the perfect example of a successful information policy: as Hassan Nasrallah himself explained in a speech last year, Hezbollah might not always reveal all that it knows, but it will never lie. Never. Hezbollah announces its defeats as well as its victories. It even admits when it does a mistake. And this remarkable policy - especially in the Middle-East - gives Hezbollah a huge capital of credibility, even with the Israelis.
There is another example which the NDF and the authorities of Novorossia might want to pay attention to.
Yesterday evening I was watching a recorded experts panel basically discussing the viability of a Donetsk and Luganks People's Republic or Novorossia. The panel included mostly Russian experts, but a number of Novorossian officials were also invited. One of the panelist asked the Novorussians what they were doing to help those whose houses were being destroyed by Ukie shelling. The reply was: "we are actively discussing the issue". At which point, the moderator jumped in and said "stop discussing and help these people now!"
During the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006 Hezbollah had an amazing policy: as soon as the bombs/shells stopped falling out of the sky, a truck with a group of Hezbollah young men would pull up and offer each family whose house had been destroyed three options: a) we rebuild your house b) we give you the money to rebuilt your house c) we help you relocate. The most interesting thing is that Hezbollah did that with all families regardless of whether they were Christians or Muslims and regardless of their political affiliations! Your house is lost - Hezbollah will help you out. Period. And before I get accused of parroting Hezbollah propaganda, I know about this from a (non-Lebanese and non-Muslim) friend who happened to be in south Lebanon during the war (I never read about this anywhere). This friend told me that Hezbollah had developed these policies many years ago during the various shelling and bombing campaigns the Israelis regularly engaged in.
And let me preempt the argument that Hezbollah is awash with Iranian money. So? The NDF should be (and probably is) awash with Russian money. Ditto for the argument that Hezbollah had it easy compared to the Novorussians: not so, Hezbollah was born during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and it was primarily representing the interests of the poorest Lebanese, not the fact cat millionaires a la Hariri & Co, and most of the original Hezbollah members were rather young and inexperienced. So no, Hezbollah happened in very hard conditions and while Iran and Syrian did help, they did not do the job for the locals Lebanese patriots.
Hezbollah's example is highly relevant to the Novorussian situation because it shows that what a resistance movement need is what I would call a "holistic" approach to resistance. Yes, the military aspect is important (and Hezbollah is probably the most formidable guerrilla force on the planet), but the resistance effort must include a professionally run public/media information service, a smart fund-raising campaign. Do you remember when you could "buy" one Katusha-rocket for $10'000 on the Internet which Hezbollah would then guarantee would be "delivered" on Israeli positions? They also offered a rifle for a combatant, a full equipment set for a combatant and even 1 AK-74 bullet for $1 if I remember correctly. And money came pouring in! They also developed a computer-based RPG (role playing game) in which the player could play the role of a Hezbollah fighter. The invented many such schemes and did not only rely on Iranian money. Just imagine if such "purchases" were made available on the Russian Internet: "for $1000 you can "buy" an RPG round which will be shot at a National Guard target, for $100 dollars we will shot a mortar round at the Ukies, $10 will buy you a sniper shot and $1 an AK round" - the money would flow in in minutes because it would give Russians in Russia a way to feel like they are doing something useful, that they are participating to the struggle against the Fascists and their death-squads. By the way, there is already a precedent: during the wars in Chechnia, Russian businesses sponsored entire units, including elite ones: the businesses would give them all the money needed to get the best and latest gear in exchange simple for a heartfelt "thank you" from these units. Local OMON and SOBR units often had such corporate sponsors who then could count on the support of these units in case of problems with the local mobsters.
These are just a few examples of how creative one can get with some out of the box thinking. Again, Hezbollah set the gold-standard in this kind of business.
But first and foremost, the Novorussian authorities need to make it clear to the population that voting for independence is not enough - they need to also fight for it. This is what Strelkov clearly tried to do, but this has to be the job of a professional PR person, not an exhausted battle commander. I am sure that with time the Novorussians will do better, but they need to learn fast as Novorussia is still not anywhere near its real resistance potential and people are dying because of this "less than full scale" resistance.
The Saker
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