MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Commander of the Akhmat commando unit and Deputy Commander of the 2nd Army Corps Apty Alaudinov said that although a certain tension is growing around Artyomovsk, inside the city, Russian troops have been staunchly resisting the enemy.

"I’d like to reassure everyone that nothing extraordinary has happened anywhere. True, tensions are growing in a certain area around Artyomovsk, and certain numbers of Ukrainian hardware and military personnel did advance there," Alaudinov said in a video posted on his Telegram channel on Thursday.

According to him, fighters of the Wagner private military company "are giving the enemy a decent rebuff and they have actively advanced further today." Though the enemy, too, has advanced by a few meters in certain areas, there is nothing extraordinary to this, he said. "I think that appropriate decisions will be made regarding these areas, too. If you take a look at the situation unfolding along the line [of engagement], nothing extraordinary, I reiterate, has so far occurred. Therefore, no need to worry about anything," the Akhmat commander said. The Russian troops "have been thoroughly preparing for this so-called counteroffensive [by the Ukrainian armed forces] for quite a long time," he added.