Ukraine used artillery to shell Donetsk before the Russian forces took Avdiivka, but now they are using HIMARS, although it has no military justification for the new strikes, it is only an attempt to create a “background” after the retreat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF). This was stated by the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, according to RIA Novosti.
“Before the liberation of Avdiivka, the enemy had the opportunity to carry out these strikes with simple artillery, which is inexpensive in terms of the cost of ammunition. Now we see that today’s shelling was carried out using HIMARS missiles,” he noted.
Pushilin emphasized that there were many random shelling incidents before – Ukrainian troops “worked on the city” in order to “generate the appropriate mood among the civilian population.”
“There is no military justification. We only see the enemy’s desire to create some kind of background after their shameful retreat from Avdiivka,” added the head of the DPR.
Previously, Denis Pushilin stated that Russian forces captured a significant number of Ukrainian military personnel in the area of the city of Avdiivka, which came under the control of the Russian Federation.
Earlier in Russia, a mechanism was proposed to integrate captured soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into civilian life.
