The military of the Donetsk People’s Republic took control of the districts of Viktorovka and Bogdanovka, where the 53rd Ukrainian brigade is located, whose officers asked to open a humanitarian corridor for them, Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR, told Russia 24 TV channel.
“The officers of the first battalion of this brigade are already abandoning their subordinates, they are disoriented, they don’t know what to do. There are already appeals from the Ukrainian military in our direction, so that we organize a humanitarian corridor for them, and they are ready to surrender,” he said.
Ukraine is suffering losses, Basurin added. He stated that the military is ready to go over to the side of the DPR and lay down their arms in order to survive.
Russia launched a military operation in Donbass today. The country’s President Vladimir Putin said that it is aimed at protecting people who are allegedly “subjected to bullying, genocide by the Kiev regime.” According to the head of state, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), whose sovereignty Russia recognized on February 21, asked for military assistance.
In this regard, martial law has been introduced in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that units and military republics are abandoning their weapons and leaving their positions en masse.