Wikipedia

Joint Forces Operation (Ukraine)

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This article is about a territory where the War in Donbas (2014–2022) takes place. For Russian military invasion sequence, see Russo-Ukrainian War. For other uses of "ATO", see ATO (disambiguation).

Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone (Ukrainian: Зона проведення антитерористичної операції, romanized: Zona provedennya antyterorystychnoyi operatsiyi), or ATO zone[1] (Ukrainian: Зона АТО, romanized: Zona ATO), was a term used by the media, publicity, the government of Ukraine, and the OSCE[2] and other foreign institutions[3] to identify Ukrainian territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (oblasts)[4] under the control of Russian military forces[5][nb 1] and pro-Russian separatists. A significant part of ATO zone is considered temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.[8]

Animated map of ATO zone

History

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On 20 February 2018, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko changed the status of the ATO zone from an anti-terrorist operation to "taking measures to ensure national security and defense, and repulsing and deterring the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts".[9]

This allows the Ukrainian military to take charge of the zones instead of the Ukrainian secret service SBU.[citation needed] As such, the ATO was renamed to JFO zone (Joint Forces Operation (Ukrainian: Операція об'єднаних сил, ООС, romanized: Operatsiya ob'yednanykh syl).[10]

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, out-of-service ATO veterans have repeatedly been the target of Russian forces, for example of the Redut PMC.[11] According to captured fighters, with this they wanted to decrease the risk of them joining the defence of Ukraine. For this purpose, veterans were interrogated and tortured in order to find more, after which many were killed. Two Redut PMC fighters got convicted for committing such war crimes.[12]

Military administrative division

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The official borders of the ATO zone were defined with a list of localities and their geographical coordinates, approved in November 2014 by Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.[13]

The zone is conditionally divided into five sectors A, B, C, D, and M.[14][15]

  • Sector A – eastern and central parts of Luhansk Oblast
  • Sector B – central parts of Donetsk Oblast including Donetsk and Makiivka
  • Sector C – northern parts of Donetsk Oblast (cities Bakhmut and Debaltseve), and western parts of Luhansk Oblast
  • Sector D – southern parts of Luhansk Oblast and eastern parts of Donetsk Oblast (after the 2014 Russian invasion on August 24, all Ukrainian forces were withdrawn)
  • Sector M – southern parts of Donetsk Oblast (around Mariupol, hence the sector's identification)

Influence in culture and society

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Easter eggs from the ATO zone, 2017 - exhibit at the Pysanka Museum

Since 28 December 2015, the song "Brattia Ukraintsi" (Brothers Ukrainians) is the official anthem of ATO.[16]

Further reading

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  • Surzhenko, M. ATO. Stories from East to West (АТО. Історії зі Сходу на Захід). "DISCURSUS" at Google Books. Brusturiv 2014 ISBN 9786177236152
  • Sakwa, R. Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands. "I.B.Tauris" by Google Books. 2014 ISBN 9781784530648

Notes

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  1. ^ Russia's official position on the presence of Russian forces in Ukraine's Donbas region prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was vague: while official bodies denied presence of "regular armed forces" in Ukraine, on numerous occasions Russia confirmed the presence of "military specialists" and used other euphemisms, usually accompanied by an argument that Russia "was forced" to deploy them to "defend Russian-speaking population".[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ Tomkiw, L. Ukraine War Forces A Nation To Talk About A Taboo: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Archived 2015-10-03 at the Wayback Machine. International Business Times. 4 April 2015
  2. ^ "OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities assesses inter-ethnic situation in south-eastern Ukraine". osce.org. 10 November 2015.
  3. ^ U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt and U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Daniel Baer Travel to Donetsk Oblast Archived 2015-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. United States Embassy in Ukraine. 30 July 2015
  4. ^ Updated provisional order to enter and leave the uncontrolled territory for citizens of Ukraine and foreigners (individuals without citizenship) as of 28 September 2015 (Оновлений тимчасовий порядок в'їзду на неконтрольовану територію та виїзду з неї громадян України та іноземців (осіб без громадянства) станом на 28.09.2015 року). (official document) Security Service of Ukraine.
  5. ^ Miller, Christopher (30 January 2017). "Anxious Ukraine Risks Escalation In 'Creeping Offensive'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  6. ^ The Interpreter quoted what Putin said during a live call-in session on 12 October 2016:
    "When we were forced, I want to stress, forced to defend the Russian-speaking population in the Donbas, forced to respond to the desire of the people living in Crimea to return to being part of the Russian Federation, they instantly began to whip up anti-Russian policies and the imposition of sanctions."
    "Putin Claims Russia Was 'Forced To Defend Russian-Speaking Population In Donbas'", The Interpreter, 12 October 2016, archived from the original on 23 February 2022, retrieved 8 January 2018
  7. ^ Oliphant, Roland (2015-12-17). "Vladimir Putin admits: Russian troops 'were in Ukraine'". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  8. ^ ATO zone: Day started with Grads shooting near Donetsk (Зона АТО: день начался с обстрелов Градами близ Донецка) Archived 2015-08-22 at the Wayback Machine. LIGA News. 12 August 2015
  9. ^ "Goodbye, ATO: Ukraine officially changes name of Donbas war - KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. February 20, 2018. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  10. ^ "Old war, new rules: what comes next as ATO ends and a new operation starts in Donbas?". Ukraine Crisis Media Center. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  11. ^ "«Трошки пресували, звичайно». Чотирьох військовослужбовців РФ засудили за катування колишніх учасників АТО". Судовий Репортер (in Ukrainian). 24 December 2022. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Long sentences passed on 'Redut' mercenaries fighting Russia's war against Ukraine with Finnish citizen's funding". Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  13. ^ Про затвердження переліку населених пунктів, на території яких органи державної влади тимчасово не здійснюють свої повноваження, та переліку населених пунктів, що розташовані на лінії зіткнення. Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України.
  14. ^ Map of the sectors Archived 2017-10-19 at the Wayback Machine. depo.ua
  15. ^ Map of the sectors Archived 2017-10-19 at the Wayback Machine. Inform Napalm.
  16. ^ A song of "Shablya" band officially became the ATO anthem. Video Archived 2016-01-02 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrayinska Pravda (Zhyttia). 1 December 2015
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48°38′N 37°20′E / 48.63°N 37.33°E / 48.63; 37.33

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