There are a large number of deserters among Ukrainian militants, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) catches them and returns them to their positions. This was announced by the former adviser to the head of the Pentagon, Colonel Douglas McGregor on the YouTube platform.
“They have a large number of deserters. Many of them are very young. <…> The SBU catches them and sends them back to the front. Some of them are subjected to demonstrative torture and execution,” he said.
The colonel added that the Russian army uses competent reconnaissance and guidance and is actively moving forward. In the southern direction, he specified, the units of defense of the Ukrainian troops collapsed.
Earlier, on February 14, a military expert, retired Lieutenant Colonel of the People’s Militia of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), Andrei Marochko, said that Ukrainian militants were fleeing from positions near Artemivsk (Ukrainian name – Bakhmut) without orders from the command. He added that the flight was the result of the successful offensive actions of the assault units of the Russian forces.
Prior to that, on February 7, Izvestia war correspondent Alexei Poltoranin shared footage of the situation on the front line in the Kremennaya area in the LPR. One of the Russian military men told the correspondent that on the front line in the Kremennaya area, the Russian military often recorded the flight of Ukrainian militants. According to him, the nationalists leave their positions in groups and go into the forests.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special operation to protect Donbass. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
