MOSCOW, Nov 12 The Armed Forces of Ukraine are in the Donbass, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video message.
«<…> Russian attacks in the Donetsk region. It's just hell there. There are daily incredibly fierce battles,» he said.
The day before after a long siege, Ukrainian troops fled from the village of Opytnoye, which covered the approaches to the southern part of the Avdiivka fortified area.
On Thursday, Acting Head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin announced that Pavlovka had been 90 percent liberated from Ukrainian militants. This settlement is located in the Ugledar region. As Apty Alaudinov, commander of the special forces «Akhmat», deputy commander of the 2nd Army Corps of the People's Militia of the LPR, noted, the capture of Pavlovka opens a springboard for further offensive in the Donbass.
The Ministry of Defense reported that the ratio of Ukrainian losses to Russian losses in the Ugledar direction comes to nine to one.
February 24, Russia has been conducting a military special operation in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin called its task «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» According to the president, the ultimate goal of the operation is the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that guarantee the security of Russia itself.