MELITOPOL, August 30. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces have flooded dozens of coal mines while retreating to the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Vladimir Rogov, the chairman of the commission on sovereignty, patriotic projects and support for veterans of the Russian Civic Chamber, has told TASS.

"While retreating, the Ukrainian armed forces are massively flooding mines in Donbass. They are flooding them in Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk - TASS), as well as to the east, south and north. <...> This concerns dozens of mines in Donbass, which are either being flooded or are already flooded," Rogov said.

He added that the flooding of the mines poses environmental threats to the region, as well as implies the loss of resources and work opportunities.

"Restoration will be very expensive, comparable to the construction of new mines. <...> They are just repeating the actions of the Germans 81 years later; in August 1943, they flooded mines in Donbass before its liberation," the agency's source said.