Ukrainian serviceman defects to DPR – People’s Militia

Donetsk, Apr 28 – DAN. A Ukrainian serviceman has defected to the Donetsk People’s Republic, the DPR People’s Militia reported on Tuesday.

“Another Ukrainian serviceman asked us for help. The Republic’s law-enforcement bodies jointly with DPR militia arranged Anatoly K.’s crossing into our territory. His life is no longer threatened,” the DPR militia said. “He’s now in quarantine.”

The serviceman left a unit of Ukraine”s Vostok Operations and Tactical Group. He said that several Ukrainian servicemen would follow suit shortly.

It is not the first time Ukrainian servicemen defect to the DPR. In 2019, former deputy head of the secret unit under the Donetsk regional military enlistment office Yury Aushev and several servicemen from 56th Separate Motorised Infantry and 79th Mountain Assault Brigades sided with the Republic. In 2018, a mercenary from Georgia and a Ukrainian army servicemen turned themselves in to the DPR three months apart from each other. Lt Col Roman Labusov of the Security Service of Ukraine defected to the DPR in 2017.

In 2015, Ukrainian army Maj-Gen Alexander Kolomiyets and Security Service Maj-Gen Alexander Tretyak went over to the DPR. In 2020, a serviceman from the nationalistic battalion Aidar defected to the DPR. Later on, all of them cooperated with the Republic’s authorities.*jk

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