Russian troops achieved success amid the battle in the suburbs of Kiev, the MoD reported on Monday.
“Units of the Russian Airborne Forces forced nationalist battalions and the Ukrainian military out of the Kiev suburbs, who, retreating, left tanks, AMPVs, a lot of firearms, anti-tank weapons, and ammunition”, an official statement read.
The list of the trophies includes T-64 and T-72 tanks, as well as German-made Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons, 9K38 Igla missile systems, and other arms.
Over the past several days, the Russian military has made considerable advances amid the special op in Ukraine, while the Donbass militias have reclaimed multiple settlements, liberating them from Kiev’s forces.
Russia launched its special operation in Ukraine on 24 February, after Kiev’s troops intensified attacks against the Donbass republics, forcing mass evacuations.
Moscow stressed that the op was started to rescue the people of Donetsk and Lugansk, who’ve suffered from an eight-year-long war waged against them by Ukrainian forces, and stated that the goal of the operation is the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine.
Source: SPUTNIK NEWS
Notes:
One of the main declared goals of the Russian special operation in Ukraine is to de-Nazify the country. Nationalist groups are the core of the volunteer battalions that have been used by Kiev in its attacks on the Donbass republics since 2014, with many of them being caught committing war crimes.
Russian troops are close to finally defeating Ukraine’s “Donbass” nationalist battalion, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov has stated.
He elaborated that up to 60 of the battalion’s fighters were killed, two tanks, while three armoured transports and six pieces of artillery and mortars were destroyed during Russian troops’ push towards Nikolskoye settlement.
Konashenkov added that Russian troops were cooperating with units of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as they advanced towards Nikolskoye.
On a separate note, chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin has announced that a probe will be carried out to determine whether leaders of the nationalist battalions captured during the operation in the Ukrainian city of Izyum committed any war crimes.
Ukrainian nationalist battalions were formed in the aftermath of the West-backed coup in 2014 to wage war against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), which declared independence amid fears of oppression of the Russian-speaking population.
- These battalions largely consisted of members of nationalist and radical groups and were often caught committing war crimes against the local population (including the volunteer “Donbass” battalion).
The new nationalist-minded authorities largely turned a blind eye to these crimes, failing to prosecute even members of the notorious “Tornado” battalion, which was disbanded precisely because of the atrocities it was committing.
The war crimes of another notorious battalion, “Aidar”, were well documented by the Amnesty International non-profit back in 2014, but none of its members were probed and punished for their deeds.
Source: SPUTNIK NEWS