Russian Defence Ministry: nationalists in Ukraine want to attack Western diplomatic facilities

“The main purpose of the provocation is to increase pressure on NATO states”

The Russian Ministry of Defence reported that during the special military operation, an employee of the Main Directorate of the SBU for Donetsk and Luhansk regions, who took part in organising the training of sabotage and terrorist groups to work in the areas liberated from nationalists, voluntarily surrendered to Russian servicemen.

“Voluntary refusal of criminal activity and timely notification of it to law enforcement agencies releases from criminal liability," the Ministry of Defence of Russia noted.

The SBU officer, as reported in the Ministry of Defenсe, reported that the militants of Azov nationalist battalion are preparing terrorist attacks in Lviv against employees and facilities of diplomatic missions of the United States and other Western countries.

The Kiev regime is aware of the nationalists' plans but does not take any action and wants to pass off the attacks as an alleged “targeted attack by the Russian armed forces”, the Russian Defenсe Ministry stressed.

“The main purpose of the provocation is to increase pressure on NATO states to introduce no-fly zone over Ukraine and provide additional weapons," the Defence Ministry said.

Russian Armed Forces broke through the defense of Aidar Battalion

Besides, the Defence Ministry reported that the Russian Armed Forces, having crossed the Kashlagach River, broke through the defenses of Aidar Battalion and advanced 5 kilometres. In total, up to 30 militants, one tank and one IFV, as well as four all-terrain vehicles were destroyed. Currently, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are fighting with units of the 54th mechanised brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, operating in the second echelon.

The People's Militia of the Donetsk People's Republic destroyed up to a company from the 53rd mechanised brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, completely took control of the settlement of Taramchuk and pursues the retreating enemy. The troops of the Luhansk People's Republic have reached the northern outskirts of Lisichansk and are destroying disparate groups of nationalists who retreated from Rubezhnoye.

During the day, 59 military facilities of Ukraine were hit by aircraft — three command posts, two multiple rocket launchers, and two radar stations in the Bogodukhov area, two warehouses of rocket and artillery weapons, as well as 51 places of accumulation of military equipment. The Forpost-RU UAV destroyed one radar of illumination and guidance of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system in the area of the settlement of Vypolzov, 60 kilometres from Kyiv.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 201 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,443 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 147 multiple rocket launchers, 564 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 1,248 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed.

Realnoe Vremya follows the events. Read the details in a special story of the online newspaper.