Donetsk Militia Confirm Leaving Stronghold City of Slavyansk

“The Ukrainian military is in control of Slavyansk,” Channel One reported citing the headquarters of the Donetsk People's Republic. “Early in the morning, the self-defense fighters were forced to leave the city.”

According to Channel One’s information “there was massive shelling” and then armored vehicles entered Slavyansk and street fighting began. That’s when the self-defense forces took the decision to leave the city, the channel said.

“Despite the massive shooting, the fighters stormed out of the city and headed for neighboring Kramatorsk. Part of their hardware was shot down in the process,” the channel said.

Rossiya 24 channel also reported that self-defense forces had quit Slavyansk, and moved their HQ to Kramatorsk, RT reported.

After the militia were forced to leave their positions in the northern part of the front, they moved to reserve positions that had been prepared in advance, Itar-Tass reported, citing Prime Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Aleksandr Boroday, as saying.

“Our troops have consolidated at the reserve lines of defense, in an organized way and having kept their weaponry. We were prepared for this option, as we have to face tens of thousands of Kiev's military men and hundreds of armored weaponry units – which means almost all the battle-ready Ukrainian army,” Boroday said.

"Taking into account the ‘scorched earth’ tactics employed by Kiev's punitive forces, and the strategy of genocide toward the Donbass population, we declare that every hour of military action claims civilians’ lives,” Boroday said.

In connection with this, he appealed to the international community, calling on them to “influence the Ukrainian authorities and stop the killings of civilians.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered the military to raise the Ukrainian flag over Slavyansk.