Information on Sievierodonetsk is confidential so as not to jeopardise the defenсe operation - Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO — FRIDAY, 24 JUNE 2022, 15:11

The General Staff is making no comment on information about the possible withdrawal of the Ukrainian military from the city of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast, currently the location of the most intense fighting on the front.

Source: Oleksandr Motuzianyk, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, during a briefing at the Ukraine-Ukrinform media centre, in response to questions

Quote from Motuzianyk: "Information on whether units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are in a certain area, including Sievierodonetsk, is confidential. We are not talking about it. I would ask everyone to focus on the information provided by the General Staff and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

I would urge both journalists and government officials to allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to report on the actions of the Ukrainian army, using the information that is publicly available.

It is not necessary to harm the conduct of a defence operation… Believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

Details: Motuzianyk confirmed during the briefing that the settlements in the southern and southeastern areas of Sievierodonetsk are the most intense areas on the front.

The Russian occupying forces have significantly increased the number of air strikes. As a result of the strikes on Lysychansk, a large number of buildings have been destroyed in the surrounding settlements.

The Defence Ministry spokesman said that despite increasing losses of personnel and equipment, the Russians still outnumber the Defence Forces of Ukraine several times over on some fronts, which has allowed them to gain some tactical success.

Background:

• On 23 June, Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, said that Ukrainian defence forces in Sievierodonetsk could retreat to new, better-fortified positions.
• On 24 June, Haidai reported that Ukrainian defenders had stopped the Russian offensive near Borivske in Luhansk Oblast and repulsed the attack on Lysychansk, while the occupiers had managed to capture Mykolaivka, and fighting continued in Sievierodonetsk.
• Haidai later said that the Ukrainian troops defending Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast had been ordered to retreat to better-fortified positions.
• Yurii Butusov, a journalist, said that Ukrainian units had left part of the Sievierodonetsk industrial zone in an organised manner.