Denis Pushilin: “The Ukrainian soldiers, hiding in the Azovstal factory, were detained”

1 Ukraine

The latest news about the Special Military Operation. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported during a briefing that the Russian forces continue their mission to protect the civilians of Donbass. The anti-air forces of the LPR shot down 2 old Soviet drones TU-143, used by the Ukrainian forces for the scouting purposes. Igor Konashenkov reported that the Russian air forces used air launched missiles to hit a large ammo depot in the town of Nikolaevka. Servicemen and armor of the 10th Ukrainian Mountain Assault Brigade were destroyed at the railway station ’Pokrovskaya’ during their arrival. A Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile launcher vehicle ’OSA-AKM’ was destroyed near the DPR town of Nikolaevka. 1 radar for the illumination and guidance of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile system S-300, located in the village of Chuguev, in Kharkov region, was destroyed. The Russian anti-air forces shot down 1 Ukrainian helicopter Mi-24 near the village of Gusarovka, in the Kharkov region. A Ukrainian military cargo plane, carrying ammo and weapons, was shot down near the village of Kremidovka, in the Odessa Oblast.

2 Russia

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported that the Ukrainian shelling of the Russian village of Zhuravlevka continues for an entire day by now. According to the preliminary information, a local woman was wounded as a result of the attack. A shelling of the Kursk region is taking place today as well. The shell fragments damaged a local school and several houses.

3 Ukraine

’’The Ukrainian forces, stationed near the LPR town of Lisichansk, have up to 6,000 servicemen, and up to 4,000 servicemen near the town of Severodonetsk» — the adviser to the Minister of the Interior Affairs of the LPR, Vitaliy Kiselyov, reported. He clarified that the Ukrainian forces are located outside those towns — in the small villages nearby. Previously he reported that there were up to 16,000 of Ukrainian servicemen in the area of Severodonetsk and Lisichansk. On 25th of May, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, stated that the Russian forces had entered the LPR town of Lisichansk, and almost entered Severodonetsk.

4 Moldova

The Chisinau court placed the ex-president of Moldova, Igor Dodon, under a house arrest for 30 days. On 24th of May, he was arrested for 72 hours. He was suspected of treason and corruption — the Prosecutor General’s Office of Moldova reported. The Acting head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Elena Kazakova, stated that after the searches, the politician himself and an another person were detained in the ex-president’s house. The ’Moldovan Socialist Party’ called the searches in the house of Igor Dodon to be «a fight against the opposition». Actions in support of the politician were held in the city of Chisinau. Igor Dodon stated that the charges against him were fabricated.

5 Russia

The press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, stated at a briefing that Moscow expects Ukraine to accept the demands from Russia. Earlier the former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, urged Ukraine to make concessions in the negotiations with Russia. According to him, it is not a matter of mere territorial concessions from Ukraine. “Kiev needs to once again recognize the de-facto situation. And then soberly assess their position» — Dmitry Peskov concluded.

6 The DPR

Some Ukrainian servicemen, who were either hiding, or were left behind during the surrender, were found in the Azovstal factory — the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, reported and added that right now it is impossible to tell for sure that there are no Ukrainian soldiers or Ukrainian nationalists left in the factory. «They could be hiding. Or they could be lost. Somewhere they simply lagged behind the others. Some of them have been found by now, and sent to their place of detention. But are there more of them in the factory? I can’t tell for sure until we check every nook and cranny of the Azovstal. And the factory is very big. So far, no-one can say anything for sure about it» — end of quote. He clarified that the lost Ukrainians do not pose an active threat. A proper search of the Azovstal can only happen after the DPR forces have checked everything, cleared all traps, and removed all the rubble.

Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS