The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine expected that the militia in Slavyansk would hold out longer, - Muzhenko
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko says that longer resistance was expected in Slavyansk, which came under the control of Kyiv on July 5 last year without a fight.
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“The liberation of Slavyansk lasted more than one day, it was a complex operation,” said the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an interview with the Kyiv magazine “Novoye Vremya”. – First there was the liberation of Krasny Liman, Yampol, Zakotny. We blocked Nikolaevka, blocking the routes for the supply of material resources, weapons, equipment and people. We. By the way, they expected the terrorists in Slavyansk to hold out a week or two longer than what actually happened. When we liberated the city, we were convinced that they had the necessary supplies for this. That’s why the operation was carried out not to storm Slavyansk, but to blockade it.”
The minister also claims that he knows nothing about mutual agreements for the defenders to leave Slavyansk.
“... I didn’t know anything about it and I don’t know anything about it today,” Muzhenko said.
In addition, he doubts that the militias withdrawn to Donetsk subsequently formed the “backbone of the enemy forces.”
“As for the core, there are doubts,” Muzhenko noted. “We had our first battles in the city back in May – for the Donetsk airport.”