[Korrespondent] Ukrainian troops are being withdrawn primarily to preserve personnel, the command says.
The defense forces have retreated on one of the sections of the front in Donetsk Oblast, reported the commander of the tactical group, Lieutenant General Sergey Nayev. According to him, our fighters have abandoned disadvantageous positions.
REASONS FOR WITHDRAWAL
The general noted that the main mission is to save the lives of Ukrainian defenders.
"The most important thing for the command is to preserve the lives and health of personnel. Therefore, in one of the sections of the front, a decision was made to withdraw forces and resources from unfavorable positions," Nayev writes.
According to him, this decision made it possible not only to save the lives of soldiers, but also to improve our defense.
"The enemy is suffering losses, and we have the opportunity to act more effectively," he explained.
Over the past month, thanks to the coordinated actions of reconnaissance personnel, drone operators, artillerymen, mortarmen, tank crews and infantry, more than 30 units of Russian armored vehicles and more than 2,000 enemy soldiers have been destroyed.
According to the commander, this significantly reduced the intensity of enemy attacks on this line.
WHAT GROUP DOES NAEV COMMAND?
The general did not specify where exactly in the Donetsk region the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers retreated.
At the same time, in February, the media reported that Naev had been appointed commander of the Velikaya Novosyolka tactical group. The officer himself announced his "arrival at the site of combat missions" on February 13.
According to both Russian and Ukrainian sources, the Russian army has been actively advancing in this area recently.
Velyka Novosilka is an important defense hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donetsk Oblast. The settlement is located on the Vremivka salient (an intrusion of the Russian army near the suburbs of Velyka Novosilka, the village of Vremivka), which is of strategic importance to both sides due to its location on the border of the Zaporizhia and Donetsk Oblasts. According to military publics, the Russians have been putting pressure there lately.
SITUATION AT THE FRONT
At the end of January, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of Velikaya Novosyolka. The enemy claimed that it had occupied the settlement "as a result of active offensive actions." However, at that time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that they had avoided encirclement and were holding part of the strategically important city.
In its daily report today, the General Staff reported that on March 17, in the Seversky, Kramatorsk, Toretsky, Pokrovsky and Novopavlovsky directions, our defenders repelled 93 enemy attacks.
The enemy's losses over the past 24 hours amounted to 1,560 soldiers.