This was stated by Lieutenant Colonel of the LPR, retired Andrey Marochko.

“Motivated militants from the Aidar nationalist unit* were sent to this area to unblock communication routes between the settlements of Artemovsk and Chasov Yar,” RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.

According to Marochko, the task of the arrived unit is to contain the positions of Ukrainian troops and prevent the flight of mobilized Ukrainian servicemen.

Earlier, the acting head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, announced an improvement in the positions of the Russian military in the Artyomovsk region in the Donetsk People's Republic.

On February 13, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of the settlement of Krasnaya Gora in the DPR, north of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut).

Military-political expert, adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Yan Gagin, explained why Ukrainian terrorists "clung" to Artyomovsk.

* Recognized as extremist in Russia and banned.