The military operation headquarters disproved reports that up to 10,000 Ukrainian military men had been allegedly trapped near Debaltseve, as well as information that a number of population areas seized by the militants grew.
“No pocket exists. This is a sort of imagination. Tell those, who spreading such news, for them to stop to smoke what they smoke. There are only my officers, who normally arrived and the left [to Debaltseve],” military operation spokesman Leonid Matiukhin told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday morning.
He reminded that last days Russian media spread news that the militants allegedly seized population areas in the military operation zone. None of these reports have been confirmed, he said.
As reported, the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has announced that up to 10,000 Ukrainian military men may be trapped near Debaltseve.
“There are about 10,000 servicemen of Ukraine there but the pocket has not closed yet. We have noticed the withdrawal of formations. We would wish to close the pocket sooner to avoid casualties,” chief of the ministry’s political department Eduard Basurin has said to journalists.
He found it difficult to predict the time of the closure but said that the militants is trying to speed up the process.
“As for the pocket, the territory is big. We are trying to close it faster. There is already less fire from Debaltseve, but they are still coming from Artemivsk,” he said.
