DONETSK, May 31. /TASS/. Kiev has opened a hunt for former Ukrainian soldier Maksim Likhachyov who escaped to Russian troops on a T-64 tank near Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Russia’s special services told TASS on Friday.

"Information is available that Kiev has announced a hunt for Maksim Likhachyov," a spokesman for the Russian special services said.

Likhachyov told TASS that he had guessed how the Ukrainian authorities would act but stressed he had no regret for his move.

The former Ukrainian soldier strolled along Donetsk and visited the Alley of Angels, a city memorial to the children killed in the Ukrainian army’s shelling since 2014. He stressed that he did not regret his decision and waited for a meeting with his relatives.

DPR defense circles told TASS earlier that a former Ukrainian soldier had surrendered to Russian troops near Donetsk, bringing a T-64 main battle tank together with him.

Likhachyov was born in the town of Krasnodon in the Lugansk People’s Republic.