LUGANSK, February 21. /TASS/. Militants from Ukraine’s Aidar nationalist battalion (outlawed in Russia) have been spotted near the city of Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine), retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Lugansk People’s Republic’s (LPR) People’s Militia Andrey Marochko told TASS on Tuesday.
According to him, Russian intelligence recorded the deployment of "the Ukrainian nationalist unit" to the Artyomovsk area. "Highly motivated militants from the Aidar nationalist unit have been deployed to the area in order to unblock communication routes between Artyomovsk and Chasov Yar," Marochko noted.
He also pointed out that Aidar militants were tasked with holding Ukrainian positions near Artyomovsk and "preventing mobilized soldiers from deserting."
Artyomovsk, located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), is an important transport hub in terms of Ukrainian military supplies. Heavy fighting is raging in the area. Russian troops have taken control of several settlements in the suburbs of Artyomovsk, including Kleshcheyevka, Paraskoviyevka and Podgorodnoye.