August 28, 2014
The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council has put online a new large-scale situation map detailing as of 1200 hours Kiev time the rapidly changing battle lines in the eastern Ukraine.
The situation map is significant because it shows the three areas where Ukrainian rebel forces, reportedly backed by large numbers of Russian troops, tanks and artillery, have mounted attacks over the past 72 hours.
* In the north, a Russian-backed armored column has crossed the Russian-Ukrainian frontier near the Russia town of Manotskiy and reached forward positions a few miles west of the besieged rebel-held city of Luhansk.
* To the south, another armored column has entered the Ukraine near the Russian village of Shramko and attacked northwards toward the Ukrainian town ofAmvrosiivka, which is roughly 30 miles southeast of the rebel capital of Donetsk.
* And perhaps of greatest potential importance, a large armored-back force, reportedly led by a sizable force Russian tanks and mechanized infantry, crossed the Ukrainian border near the town of Maksimov on the shores of the Sea of Azov, and this morning captured the Ukrainian town of Novoazovsk, located about 7 miles from the Russian border
Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military has rapidly reinforced the defenses of the port city of Mariupol, about 20 miles to the west of Novoazovsk, with at least one, and possibly two brigades of mechanized infantry. Whether these forces will be sufficient to prevent Mariupol from being captured is open to conjecture at this point in time.
Ukrainian troops who have retreated from Novoazovsk to Mariupol report that they were forced to abandon their defensive positions, in large part because of a lack of artillery and air support.
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