DONETSK, August 14. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops are abandoning their positions in the village of Grodovka and its outskirts and near the town of Novogrodovka in the Pokrovsk area in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), defense circles told TASS on Wednesday.

"The enemy is not putting up any special resistance in the Pokrovsk direction. It is quietly leaving its positions in Grodovka and its outskirts and retreating to the area of Novogrodovka," the defense circles said.

The pace of advance by Russian troops denies the Ukrainian army the opportunity to build full-fledged defense, the defense circles said.