Ukrainian volunteer battalion cedes two Luhansk region communities to militia
LUHANSK. Aug 29 (Interfax) - The so-called territorial defense volunteer battalion Aidar fighting alongside the Ukrainian government forces has ceded the villages of Khryashchuvate and Novosvitlivka near Luhansk to the militia, says its commander Serhiy Melnychuk.
"The Aidar battalion has retreated from Khryashchuvate and Novosvitlivka because of the enemy's overwhelming manpower superiority," Melnychuk said in a video posted on Youtube on Friday.
The militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) declared earlier that they had taken control of Novosvitlivka. "Novosvitlivka has been attacked and liberated. A mortar and its crew were destroyed in a battle. Four mortars, an ammunition depot, and a lot of firearms have been seized," the Novorossiya news agency said in a statement.