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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Some members of the Ukrainian nationalist Right Sector political organization have joined the Ukrainian military, according to Russian language news accounts.
Regum.ru reported remarks made by Ukrainian Colonel Andrei Lysenko, spokesman for the Anti Terrorist Operation on Tuesday, in which Colonel Lysenko said that some officers formerly associated with the Dnepr-1 private military battalion have already turned in their guns, drawing new ones from the Ukrainian military.
According to the news account, two other private military battalions have already integrated into the Ukrainian Armed Forces: the Donbass and the Aydar battalions.
Former commander of the Dnepr-1 battalion and member of Right Sector, Yuri Bezera said in the report that some news reports which include members who claim to be part of Right Sector, are in fact not part of it.
A separate report in regnum.ru said that armed Right Sector members will be disarmed by Ukrainian military and police forces by force if they do not disarm willingly. According to the report, negotiations are continuing.
Left out of reporting that private military battalions were integrating was the Azov battalion, one of the more troubling of the volunteer military units. Azov is now deployed in defense of Mariupol, and has refused to leave the Mariupol defense sector or to disarm.
Azov was ordered to disarm or join last April 1st, an order it refused. Instead, according to reports at the time, it reinforced positions in Shirokino, near Mariupol, and has been battling Russian backed rebel units since.
Rebel commanders in the last 10 days have claimed to have received requests from the Ukrainian military to begin shelling Azov positions in Shirokino and Mariupol. Rebel commanders refused the request.
Rebel commanders also claimed two weeks ago that a private military organization was "eliminated" in a special forces operation in Avdievka near the western suburbs of Donetsk, the communications of which Donetsk rebels' electronic intelligence units monitored.
Three weeks ago, it was reported in tsensor.net that elements of the Ukrainian 25th Parachute Brigade and the 95th Airmobile Brigade had deployed near Right Sector headquarters near Dnepropetrovsk, and had disarmed Right Sector members traveling in the area.
The Ukrainian military claimed at the time the deployments were strictly a training exercise.
Ceasefire Violations
Rebel media said Monday their positions in Shirokino were shelled by mortars, and that their positions in northern Luganks were hit by Ukrainian artillery, especially along T1303.
Donetsk defense spokesman Eduard Basurin said Tuesday that Ukrainian artillery hit targets in western Donetsk, including in Spartak and in Oktyabrsky district of Donetsk. Ukrainian artillery also hit rebel positions in Gorlovka and Shirokino.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.