Media: Ukrainian volunteer battalions took control of Donetsk filtration plant
The Ukrainian Volunteer Army, formerly known as the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps Right Sector with no official affiliation with the Ukrainian military, captured the Donetsk filtration plant, which supplies drinking water to cities and towns located on both sides of the demarcation line.
Donetsk separatists were the first to break the news. "Tonight the Ukrainian side, in violation of all agreements and commitments, captured the Donetsk filtration plant to use as a launch point for their attacks. Knowing that our detachments follow the Minsk agreements and do not open fire at critical infrastructure facilities, the enemy acted with total impunity," said Eduard Basurin, representative of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, according to TASS news.
Basurin claimed that the plant was seized by the members of the "nationalist groups." "It can be concluded that the Ukrainian authorities currently do not control the situation. In this regard, we urge world leaders to withdraw nationalist detachments from the contact line zone, complying with the written guarantees from the March 15, 2016 talks," he said.
Ukrainian news website strana.ua writes, citing its sources on the both sides of the contact line, that the Donetsk filtration plant was indeed captured by the Ukrainian Armed forces. The assault was carried out by a detachment of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army led by a commander with the call sign Dolphin and was supported by paratrooper units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"We have five wounded soldiers, but they will survive. Nobody died. The attack was conducted at night, the plant was taken completely under our control," volunteer Army sources told Strana.ua.
On Sunday, February 26, the separatist media reported that Ukrainian soldiers withdrew from the territory of the filtration plant.
“The military leadership of Ukraine found strength and managed to drive the Ukrainian nationalists from the territory of Donetsk filtration plant,” stated Deputy Defense Minister and defense spokesman of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, Eduard Basurin.
The filtration plant is situated between Avdiivka and Yasynuvata. It supplies water to settlements on both sides of the front line. These are the city of Donetsk and Yasynuvata, the villages Vasylivka and Spartak, which are under the control of so-called DPR, as well as the Avdiivka, Krasnohorivka and Verkhnyotoretske settlements, which are controlled by Ukraine. The plant has repeatedly experienced shelling during the conflict, as a result of which its work was disrupted several times.
Earlier, it was reported that the OSCE warned about the threat of environmental disaster near Donetsk, since a large amount of chlorine is stored at the plant.