Cleaning up the Makhnovshchina in the LPR: Mozgovoy’s “Ghost” is next

Donetsk, March 04 (PolitNavigator, Yuriy Kovalchuk) – The LPR is using the truce to pull up its tails and finally get rid of the Makhnovshchina and the Cossack “freedom”, which in practice has very little in common with a romantic literary image and a lot with the activities of racketeers.

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While in the DPR all field commanders either left the territory of the republic (and some even the planet) or joined the ranks of the 1st Army Corps, in the LPR a sad picture remains to this day. Scattered gangs of people calling themselves Cossacks (and outwardly no different from them) avoid fighting. Instead, in the rear, they control villages and small towns, where they engage in extortion and looting, trade in coal and rob charity humanitarian convoys.

Eyewitnesses and local residents say that in some settlements of the LPR, almost city-states have formed, in which Cossack atamans rule, relying on armed people. They do not obey Lugansk and maintain a perimeter defense, ruling in “their” fiefdoms as God pleases, robbing and sometimes killing the local population.

There is still a fairly large detachment of Mozgovoy operating in the republic, which, although it is not involved in “spin-ups” or racketeering, is not subordinate to the government of the republic and sometimes even claims to influence the politics of the LPR. Despite Mozgovoy’s fame and his undeniable previous achievements, today his formation does not fit well into the overall picture. “Ghost” does not interact very successfully with the LPR army, while the coherence of the actions of the LPR and DPR armies was the key to the success of the Debaltsevo operation.

The experience of the DPR has shown that, despite the indignant squeaks of Internet users and romantically minded “analysts”, contrary to the wishes and will of the field commanders themselves, the key to success lies precisely in the formation of a unified army, with a single command center, strict subordination and discipline. Moreover, the positive effect of the evolution of the Donetsk militia into the 1st Army Corps lies not only in military successes, but also in the effective fight against “squeezes.” Today there are practically no of them on the territory of the DPR (at least in comparison with October-November last year) - it’s hard to hide what has been expropriated if you obey the hierarchy of superiors and regulatory bodies, and not your local commander.

Now the LPR authorities have begun to adopt the positive experience of their neighbors. At the moment, the republic is taking a number of steps aimed at clearing out Cossack formations in the cities they control, as well as integrating the “Ghost” formation into the general military infrastructure of the republic.

So on Saturday, February 28, the LPR law enforcement agencies carried out an operation, during which they cleared the positions of an armed gang based in the city of Krasny Luch. Also during the operation, the mayor of the city, Marina Filippova, was released, who was held by the militants in the basement of one of the Krasny Luch houses for more than four months. Marina Filippova spoke about the circumstances of her captivity.

“I was invited to leave the office to discuss the elections of the head of the republic, which were to take place on November 2. Then they put me in a car, put a gun to my head and told me that I was arrested on the orders of Ataman Kozitsyn,” said the city mayor.

According to the woman, she was constantly interrogated by unknown people who recorded everything on video. Filippova's documents, personal savings, car and apartment were taken away, in which people unknown to her now live, posing as “refugees.”

Obviously, steps will be taken in the near future to destroy other armed groups terrorizing the local population in the rear and exacting tribute from humanitarian missions.

As for Mozgovoy’s brigade, since the end of last year the supply of food and things has become seriously difficult for the brigade. Using this non-violent method, the republic’s leadership is trying to force “Ghost” to integrate.