REUTERS
The headquarters of the Anti-Terrorist Operation denies claims by Russian-backed militants that they have almost encircled Ukrainian forces in the area of Debaltseve, the head of the press center of the ATO headquarters, Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk told an UNIAN correspondent on Monday.
"There is no pocket there. The militants indeed have tried to attack our positions and to displace our forces. But there is no pocket there," he said.
According to Motuzianyk, the headquarters of the Anti-Terrorist Operation have the appropriate communications that allow the units of the Ukrainian armed forces and other military formations to be provided with all they need.
"However, we have operational information that the militants were ordered by their Russian curators to occupy Debaltseve ‘at any cost’. They do not stop these attempts, day and night. The shelling, on the contrary, has increased," Motuzianyk said.