Ukraine arrests a dozen ‘infiltrators’ in Marinka, including one Russian citizen

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that during an operation in the government-controlled town of Marinka in the east of the country, 12 “infiltrators” were arrested, including one Russian citizen. According to Poroshenko, they had stood up against Ukrainian soldiers. Poroshenko called the arrests a “mopping-up” operation.

Representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Basurin confirmed to Russian news agency Interfax that a Russian citizen had been detained. Baturin said he was a Donetsk People’s Republic soldier. “We never denied that Russian citizens also fight on our side, but they do this voluntarily, they come here of their own accord,” said Basurin.

On June 4, following orders from the Commander-in-Chief in Marinka, a ‘mopping-up’ operation took place with the participation of the 95th, 25th and 28th brigades and the National Guard.

Over the course of June 3, fighting took place between the Ukrainian army and the separatists in the east of Ukraine, near the Ukrainian government-controlled town of Marinka. According to reports, both sides used heavy weapons, which is prohibited by the terms of the ceasefire put in place by the Minsk Peace Talks.

Ukrainian officials blamed the separatists for launching an offensive on Marinka. The separatists claim that the fighting began after provocations from the side of the Ukrainian army.

On May 17, Ukrainian officials announced the arrest of two men in separatist-held eastern Ukraine. Kiev says they work for Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (the army’s foreign military intelligence division, also known as the GRU). Russia’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed that Erofeev and Alexandrov are Russian citizens, but according to Russian officials, they are not on active military duty.