Donetsk, Aug 21 - DAN. The Ukrainian Navy’s drill centre in the Nikolayev area is completing the training of a team to blast an ammunition depot in the country, said Donetsk People’s Republic Operations Command deputy commander Eduard Basurin backing his opinion with intelligence data.
“Our intelligence obtained information about preparations for a large act of sabotage... to destroy weapons and hardware storage facilities in Ukraine,” Basurin said.
In September 2018, British instructors will complete a subversive operations course for special task force units at the Ukrainian Navy’s 198th training centre in Nikolayev, he said.
“According to intelligence received from Ukrainian army special operations forces, part of the servicemen (12 people) were trained under a special programme. Their identities have been withheld, they are always masked and classes for them are held separately from the rest,” Basurin said.
DPR intelligence believes that it is this group that has been tasked with blasting a large ammunition depot. The DPR Operations Command told the Donetsk News Agency that the leadership of Ukraine’s National Security Council and Defence wants this operation to be carried out. Their objective is to conceal the theft of military equipment and write off the improperly stored ammunition.
Basurin did not rule out that Kiev might blame Donetsk for the explosion. This will make room for a political manoeuvre as Ukrainian authorities will accuse the DPR of conflict escalation and use it as pretext to introduce martial law in Donbass.*jk