MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Units of the Ukrainian armed forces are pulling back from their positions in a segment of the combat zone in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Lieutenant-General Sergey Nayev, the commander of the Ukrainian army’s group in this area, said.
"The second month of the battlegroup, which is holding the line in one of the areas [of the DPR under the control of Kiev], being under my command continues. In one of the segments of the frontline, it has been decided to withdraw troops and resources from unfavorable positions," he wrote on his Facebook page (prohibited in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which is designated as an extremist organization). He argued that this decision was made to "preserve the safety of the military personnel."
He did not specify what area he was referring to. Earlier, the Ukrainian media reported that the general was directed to command the Velikaya Novosyolka (a settlement in the DPR) battlegroup. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the settlement was liberated by Russian forces on January 26. Following this, the Russian Armed Forces approached the border of the Zaporozhye Region from the east, Chairman of Russia’s Civic Chamber Commission on Sovereignty, Patriotic Projects and Veteran Support Vladimir Rogov said.
Nayev earlier served as commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces. He was dismissed in February 2024, when Vladimir Zelensky appointed a new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army and a number of military commanders. Nayev said at the time that he learned about his dismissal via the media. On February 10, 2025, he had an interview with the Ukrainskaya Pravda news outlet, where he criticized legal proceedings against former commanders and said that the preparation for the hostilities, which had started in February 2022, was poor. After this, the Ukrainian media reported that the general was sent to the frontline, where he is now the head of the Velikaya Novosyolka battlegroup. He later confirmed that he was sent to the combat area.