LUGANSK, July 28. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military command has had to pull back its troops from the settlement of Boikovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) to the third defensive line near the settlements of Nikanorovka and Suvorovo under the onslaught of Russian forces, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS on Monday.

"After the liberation of Novotoretskoye, Ukrainian militants clearly found themselves in a very disadvantageous position in the settlement of Boikovka and for that reason Ukraine’s military command made a decision to pull back its forces and capabilities to two communities - Nikanorovka and Suvorovo that are located more or less on elevated terrain. And there, already at the third defensive line, it is easier for the enemy to defend its positions because Boikovka is located in the lowlands. In Boikovka, Ukrainian militants had been suffering heavy casualties over a long period of time," the military expert said.

Russian troops liberated the settlement of Novotoretskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic on July 22. Marochko told TASS on July 26 that after taking Novotoretskoye, Russian troops "swiftly" entered neighboring Boikovka and began mopping up the settlement.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on July 28 that its Battlegroup Center had liberated the settlement of Boikovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic.