MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops had to send in reserves as they are trying to hold on to the settlement of Ocheretino north of Donetsk, said Nazar Voloshin, a spokesman for the country’s battlegroup Khortitsa.

"Additional forces and capabilities have been brought in from the reserve," he said on Rada television.

Voloshin conceded that Russia had "certain tactical success" in the area.

Igor Kimakovsky, an adviser to the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told TASS in mid-April that Ukrainian forces had lost many positions near Novokalinovo and Ocheretino. A few days later, he said that one of the most numerous Ukrainian brigades in Ocheretino had been defeated, and the remaining forces were trying to leave the settlement in small groups down a road that was reachable by Russian fire.

Ocheretino is a small village, but it holds importance for Ukrainian forces as it helps secure supply routes in the area.