DONETSK, 18 June (BelTA) – 235 settlements have been liberated in the Donetsk People's Republic, head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin told the media in Donetsk, BelTA has learned,
"The war has been going on for the past eight years. During this time Donbass has been systematically destroyed by the Ukrainian regime. All this has happened despite the Normandy format and the Minsk agreements. Several weeks or even days were left before Ukraine's offensive, and Russia could not stand aside. Vladimir Putin made the only possible, in our opinion, decision, namely to launch a special military operation. For us, this is a liberation operation. We regard this operation not as the beginning but as the end of the long eight-year war," Denis Pushilin said.
According to him, what is happening now is the systematic liberation of the territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics within their constitutional borders, within the borders that a referendum was held in 2014 and that were recognized by Russia.
"Our troops are moving forward according to the plan. Svyatogorsk has been recently liberated, which is symbolic for us. The city is not yet completely safe. There are heights from which damage is still being done to infrastructure facilities and residents of the city. All in all, we've liberated 235 settlements. The operation is now progressing in two directions," the head of the DPR said.
