Kyiv, December 04 (PolitNavigator, Victoria Litovchenko) – In the summer, during military operations near Ilovaisk, Donetsk region, thousands of Ukrainian military personnel and several battalions left their positions.
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The chief of staff of the ATO Viktor Nazarov said this in an interview with the publication Insider.
“I’m not sure that society is ready for us to now voice information about hundreds, thousands of deserters, then flee from positions. This is a sore subject because we are talking about national dignity. There is an example that has become known - battalion “Prykarpattya”, which fled in full force, but, unfortunately, he was not alone,” he said, refusing to give exact figures.
“If people find out these numbers, it will be just a shock. This will lead to a significant rethinking of all the complexities associated with war. Unfortunately, it was. And in that situation, the leadership of the ATO always had its finger on the pulse, all our actions were aimed at stabilizing the situation. The result is that Mariupol is ours, Melitopol is ours and Slavyansk is ours. Although the Russians planned to recapture these settlements. As a result, we retained control over the main population centers.
People who do not understand anything even in the theory of military affairs, not to mention practice, allow themselves, for example, to say: “Why do we need Bakhmutka, let’s give it to the separatists,” or say that need to pass checkpoint 32. In my opinion, his surrender is treason. It was left there without authorization,” says the chief of staff.
«The conversation about Ilovaisk needs to be conducted in completely different categories. Yes, there were losses, there was a tactical failure, but it was heroism, these were the actions that determined the strategic success as a whole,” Nazarov convinces.
As PolitNavigator reported, the fighting near Ilovaisk began in August, and on September 15, the then Minister of Defense Valery Geletey announced the withdrawal of all ATO forces fighters from Ilovaisk, Donetsk region.
In October, it became known that at least 200 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the battle near Ilovaisk.