Donetsk, Aug 16 - DAN. The statements by Joint Forces Operation commander Sergey Nayev that Kiev had taken more Donbass territory under control after reconfiguring the military operation are not true, the Donetsk People’s Republic Operations Command told the Donetsk News Agency on Thursday.
“Nayev’s statements are empty words; they are not true. These irrational words stem from the fact that Ukraine has been suffering significant losses recently,” a DPR Operations Command officer said. "To conceal them, the Ukrainian army command is trying to boost the morale of the fighters in the trenches.”
The officer underlined that DPR militiamen continued to hold their positions in the region. “Ukrainian servicemen can temporarily take settlements in the “grey zone” where we don’t have our units, and present it as major victories,” the DPR Operations Command said.
Earlier on Thursday, JFO chief Sergey Nayev alleged that the Ukrainian military had taken under control a 15 square kilometer area since the JFO began on April 30, 2018 and that further enlargement plans were in place.*jk