DONETSK, March 3. /TASS/. Deputy department head of the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Basurin reported about more than 70 servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who laid down their arms.
"73 servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces voluntarily surrendered, defecting to the DPR," Basurin said. According to him, five of them are currently being provided with medical assistance.
The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military over the past months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties. President Putin said in a televised address on the morning of February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation.