Russians ready to leave the south - expert

The Russians may leave the Ukrainian territories in the south occupied by them, while at the same time trying to retain the seized lands in the east. Military expert Petro Chernik has said this, Channel 24 reports.

In his opinion, it is much more important for the Kremlin to retain control in eastern Ukraine. And the loss of Bakhmut and other Donbass cities would be a "significant defeat" for Russia.

In strategic terms, Russian occupation troops are ready to leave the south. Otherwise they would not be preparing to hold the defence on the Perekop Isthmus, Chernik pointed out.

We would like to point out that Russian troops are trying to advance in Donetsk Region. The enemy is concentrating its main forces in the Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Maryinka directions. During the day, the enemy launched 48 air strikes and fired 54 multiple rocket launchers at our troops' positions and settlements.

The Ukrainian military eliminated 670 Russian soldiers in the past 24 hours, the total number of Russian army losses since the start of the invasion is 231,700.