MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops are retreating to the border of the Dnepropetrovsk Region from the Kiev-controlled territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic to the ‘last defensive line’ in that area, a defense force fighter with the call sign Muchnoi said on his Telegram channel on Friday.
"The last defensive line before Dnepr. We are now beginning to pull back gradually to the basic defensive line before the border of the Dnepropetrovsk Region. Our Cossacks have been forced to make a retreat to the area of Novoaleksandrovka-Nadezhdinka [the settlements in the Donbass region] in the west. Moreover, the troops will also have to retreat from Novovasilyevka [a settlement located in the Donbass region]. The enemy believes that Novovasilyevka will not hold on for long because it has already been enveloped from both sites," the Ukrainian fighter said.
If the Ukrainian army loses Novovasilyevka, the settlements of Udachnoye and Kotlino located in the Donbass region will become more easy targets for Russian forces, he said, pointing to the risk of the loss of Yasenevo used as a logistics hub for the Ukrainian army.
"The enemy has also begun to launch attacks towards Yasenevo and have actually approached it from both sides. This village is a logistics hub and its loss will deteriorate supplies between our units and create a threat south of the area of Slavyanka and Petropavlovka," the Ukrainian serviceman said, adding that the loss of that frontline area would ease movement towards the village of Andreyevka.
Ukraine’s General Staff admitted earlier that the frontline situation remained tense for the Ukrainian army.