DPR military commander: Ukraine is advancing into Donbas
The pro-Russian militants may lose control over the key area in the Donbas - the Avdiivka industrial zone, believes the DPR military commander Alexander Khodakovsky.
"If now we lose this industrial zone, then several other directions will be immediately threatened: Yasynuvata, the village of Spartak. The enemy will come close to our main line of defense. They will get an advantage due to a significant number of dead zones, which we simply cannot protect, "said Khodakovsky in an interview with the Telegram Channel “Donbas Decides”.
According to Khodakovsky, the Ukrainian troops have already advanced in some areas.
"With a snap of the fingers they [the Ukrainian military] will be able to seize some of our key positions," Khodakovsky said.
He believes that the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic risks losing control over the highway Yasynuvata - Avdiivka.
"If the they (the Ukrainian Armed Forces) take an important position there, which we do not pay much attention to, then they will get such an advantage that after a short period of time they will gain full control over the industrial zone. The enemy is 90% ready to solve this problem, " said Khodakovsky.
He added that the pro-Russia military is unlikely to be able to "clear out the consequences" of such a scenario.
There has been no confirmation of Khodakovsky's words about advancement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the Avdiivka industrial zone. The command of the Ukrainian Joint Force Operation emphasizes that the Ukrainian military continues to comply with the Minsk agreements and the ceasefire. Strikes on the enemy positions are carried out only in case of a threat to the health and lives of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel.
Alexander Khodakovsky, a former employee of the Ukrainian Security Service, since the first days of Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine, was one of the leaders of the separatists of the Donbas.
Khodakovsky founded the Vostok battalion and became its leader. He was recently removed from all official positions in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
Khodakovsky supports the idea of the accession of the Donbas to Russia.