The head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said that the headquarters of the Ukrainian special operation in the Donbass was practically destroyed, RIA Novosti reports.
“Along the entire line of contact, it can be stated that almost no strikes are being made on the territory of the DPR, enemy firing points are being suppressed. The headquarters of the JFO is practically destroyed; the liberation movement is in full swing,” he said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Earlier, Pushilin said that the military operation in the Donbass would soon end, and the cities of the DPR would be liberated.
As per the militia, the Ukrainians have started shelling again.
Deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Eduard Basurin said that the servicemen of the People’s Militia of the DPR took control of two more settlements in the Donetsk region – the villages of Bogdanovka and Viktorovka, the Rossiya 24 TV channel reports.
In addition, the DPR air defense shot down two Bayraktar strike unmanned aerial vehicles of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Earlier, the DPR said that the Ukrainian military is asking to open humanitarian corridors.
According to Basurin, servicemen of the armed forces of Ukraine suffer heavy losses in the newly formed “cauldrons” in the combat zone. Ukrainian security forces mined a desulfurization shop and a transformer substation on the territory of the Avdiivka Coke Plant.
Earlier Five settlements in the DPR were shelled by the Ukrainian military in an hour, including prohibited weapons, said the representative office of the DPR.
DPR spox said that from 08.35 to 09.35, shells were fired in the direction of the settlements of Gorlovka (Horlivka), Novolaspa, Grigorovka, Belaya Kamenka, Vasilievka.
DPR said it had conducted successful offensive operations in the Nikolaevka area. The Ukrainian military suffered losses and left their positions, they added.
Militia aims to reach the borders of the Donetsk region
The representative of the people’s militia of the DPR, Eduard Basurin, said that the task of the republic’s military forces is to reach the borders of the Donetsk region.
“The task is the administrative borders of the Donetsk region. Because the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic are within the administrative boundaries of those regions that were before the 14th year [2014],” he said on the air of the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
The second task Basurin called the release of people “who are under the yoke of Ukrainian politicians.”
LPR Pasechnik consolidates
The troops of the LPR are faced with the task of ‘liberating the territory’, which de jure belongs to the Luhansk People’s Republic, said the LPR Spox.
“The task has been set for the People’s Militia of the LPR to clear, liberate the territory that de jure belongs to the Luhansk People’s Republic. This is the main task facing our Armed Forces … While we are liberating our territory,” an adviser to the head of the self-proclaimed republic said on Thursday, Rodion Miroshnik, on “Russia 24”.
The People’s Militia of the LPR has already announced the liberation of Lopaskino.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine announced the first lost settlements – these are the villages of Melovoye and Gorodishche in the Lugansk region. According to the department, they were captured by the “LPR” troops.
Russia did not hit the Ukrainian army positions which laid down weapons
The Ukrainian army’s units and service members left their positions en masse, abandoning their weapons. The Russian Ministry of Defense emphasized that the positions of the Ukrainian army units that laid down their arms were not subjected to strikes.
Russia closes checkpoints on the border with Ukraine in Crimea
Border checkpoints in Crimea on the border with Ukraine are closed until further notice, said Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the head of the region.
“All checkpoints on the border with Ukraine are closed. We ask Crimeans not to plan trips until further notice,” he said.
The head of the Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, reported the sounds of explosions in the republic bordering Ukraine. He stressed that the authorities completely control the situation; nothing threatens the peninsula’s population.
Romania intercepts Ukrainian fighter jet
A Ukrainian military aircraft illegally intruded into Romanian airspace and was escorted to land at the Bacau airbase, and the pilot was detained, the press service of the Romanian Ministry of Defense reports.
“On Thursday, February 24, two F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Romanian Air Force of the combat service of the NATO Air Command took off to clarify the air situation in connection with an unauthorized flight in the northern part of Romania. The Su-27 aircraft, belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force, was escorted for an immediate landing at the airbase 95 Bacau,” says the message published on the website of the Ministry of Defense reads.