Russian artillery attacked the positions of the militants of the Nazi formation "Kraken" in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe settlement of Pitomnik in the Kharkov region, said the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.

According to him, up to 100 militants and about ten units of military equipment were destroyed.

“The command of the militants decided to leave their positions and withdraw the remnants of the unit to the city of Kharkov,” he added.

In addition, four command posts were liquidated with high-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces, including the battalions of the territorial defense of Kharkov and the training base for foreign mercenaries near Nikolaev.

Konashenkov also spoke about the destruction of manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 32 districts, the base for the repair of equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, eight ammunition depots and weapons, and a fuel base.

As part of the counter-battery fight, two Ukrainian platoons of Grad multiple rocket launchers in the Kalinov and Aleksandrovo-Kalinovsk regions and two artillery platoons shelling settlements of the DPR were hit.

As a result of air, missile and artillery strikes, 39 command and control posts, six ammunition depots, artillery and mortar units in 68 districts were destroyed, including a French-made SAESAR unit on Kuban Island, as well as manpower and military equipment in 216 areas.

Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force in the air and destroyed a self-propelled firing system of the Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system.

In turn, Russian air defense systems shot down two Su-25 aircraft, a Mi-8 helicopter, nine Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and also intercepted seven Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missiles and eight multiple rocket launchers.

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

At the same time, the Russian Armed Forces continue offensive operations in the area of ​​the Lisichansk oil refinery.

“Great losses were inflicted on the 10th mountain assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the captured servicemen of this brigade, the 108th battalion was completely destroyed.

Of the 350 people of this unit, only 30 military personnel remained.

In the units of the 115th mechanized, 79th airborne assault and 25th airborne brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine operating in the Lisichansk direction, the food situation is critical.

Due to the famine, numerous cases of abandonment of positions and desertion of military personnel are recorded, ”concluded Konashenkov.

LNR took control of all routes linking Lysichansk with Ukraine

Units of the Russian troops and the forces of the People's Militia of the Lugansk People's Republic blocked the highway connecting Artyomovsk and Lisichansk.

“On this road, the communication and supply of supplies of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Lisichansky garrison was completely interrupted,” said Vitaly Kiselyov, Assistant Minister of the Interior of the LPR, whose words are quoted by TASS.

Lieutenant Colonel of the People's Militia of the LPR Andrey Marochko added that the allied forces control all the routes connecting Lisichansk with the so-called mainland Ukraine: "Now the routes that existed before are completely under our control."

According to him, a number of unpaved country roads remain, along which Ukrainian servicemen are trying to move.

He also noted that the Ukrainian military, retreating from Lisichansk, is laying mines, including prohibited anti-personnel mines.

Russian Foreign Ministry - on referendums in the liberated territories of Ukraine

Residents of the liberated territories of Ukraine, as well as the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, should determine their own future, said Alexei Polishchuk, director of the second department of the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry, in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“We know that citizens living on the lands of the Kherson, Zaporizhia and Kharkov regions liberated from the Nazis do not want the return of the Kyiv authorities, which threaten them with reprisals for allegedly “treason” and “collaborationism” with Russia, for belonging to Russian culture and the desire to speak in Russian,” he said.

Earlier in the Kherson, Zaporozhye and Kharkiv regions, they announced their intention to hold referendums on joining the Russian Federation.