Pro-Russians acknowledge “tense” but “stable” situation despite Ukrainian military advance

The president of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, has assured this Sunday that the situation in the region is “tense” but “stable” at the front despite the recent military advances of the Ukrainian Army.

“The situation on the front is tense, but it is under control,” Pushilin explained in statements to the Russian news agency TASS. He has even assured that the pro-Russian militias are making advances in some areas, although “with difficulty”.

He also stressed that the DPR forces continue to control the airport and denied the information spread by some Ukrainian media about the seizure of these facilities.

“Near Uglegorsk, NATO-supplied material, including a Polish-made 155-millimeter AHS Krab artillery piece, has been destroyed,” he noted. Pushilin denounced that the Ukrainian commanders are sending to the front line military personnel with hardly any training, which would be causing the “serious losses” suffered by the Ukrainian Army.

On the other hand, the president of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadirov, has referred to the recent Ukrainian advances in the Kharkov region and has assured that these regions will soon return to the control of Russian troops.

“The (Russian) Defense Ministry has clarified the situation as to why they have left the cities of Izium, Kupiansk and Balakleya in the direction of Kharkov. It was a forced move due to the military strategy to (avoid) human casualties,” Kadyrov has argued in a message posted on his Twitter account.

“I assure you that all these cities are going to be recaptured. Our people are already there, guys specially trained for this task. Another 10,000 fighters are ready to be sent. Soon we will arrive in Odessa and you will see concrete results,” he added.

However, he has warned that “if there is no change of strategy between today and tomorrow, I will have to contact the leadership of the Defense Ministry and the country’s leadership to explain the situation to them.”