MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops have lost their first line of fortifications near Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, Major General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ military and political department and commander of the Akhmat special forces unit, said.
"When the entire frontline stands firm, with no opportunity to either outflank or circumvent it, it is always difficult to breach it. In this case, the Russian defense ministry’s units are advancing along the entire engagement line. They [Ukrainian troops] have completely lost their first line of fortifications; our forces have room to maneuver in various directions, dividing the enemy and pushing it from positions it has held for some time now," he told Russia’s Channel One TV.
According to Alaudinov, Russian forces will not be storming fortifications in these settlements. "Everything will be done so that the enemy either is surrounded or abandons these positions and flees," he said.
He stressed that Russian forces "can go a number of different ways in maneuvering to block the enemy."