GROZNY, January 19. /TASS/. The number of Ukrainian servicemen, who underwent a month-long training course in Europe, is too small to drastically change the situation on the frontline, Apty Alaudinov, deputy commander of the 2nd army corps of the LPR People's Militia, told the Rossiya-1 television channel on Thursday.
"The reality is that their numbers are too small to be a game changer on the battlefield, particularly provided that the frontline is about one thousand kilometers long. I think that by the time they get ready and try to advance in our direction, our defense will provide us with a significant amount of [military] equipment. In fact, we don’t need tanks to counter their forces, as units of the Russian defense ministry and related forces are coping with this task quite efficiently," Alaudinov said.
In his words, the Ukrainian population is in a state of panic following the recent loss of Soledar and looming loss of Artemovsk, known in Ukraine by the name of Bakhmut.
"Ukraine’s retreat from these two cities paves the way for a major offensive along the entire Donetsk front. In fact <…> they [the Kiev government] are simply trying to somehow quell the panic, which is rising now," the commander said.
"Ukrainian servicemen are refusing to go to the front, and they are forced to do so at gunpoint. In fact, they are getting killed in large numbers. So, it should be understood that [those reports] are nothing but a political trick to suppress panic among the population," he added.