The commander of the Donetsk group Lutsenko in Ukraine has been sent into retirement

The commander of the Donetsk group of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Oleksandr Lutsenko, has been dismissed. This was reported by Verkhovna Rada MP Maryana Bezuglaya on December 13.

Lutsenko was in charge of the Red Army direction (Ukrainian name - Pokrovskoye). Instead of him, the command was taken over by Alexander Tarnavsky.

"General Lutsenko was dismissed from the post of commander of the Donetsk OTU. This applies to the defense of the entire Pokrovskoye and Kurakhovskoye directions, including the defense of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk. - Ed.)," wrote Bezuglaya in Telegram-channel.

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Earlier, on December 10, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin said that the AFU is on the verge of collapse and the situation on the front is not in Kiev's favor.

Before that, on 5 December, Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that Kiev was already losing the Ukrainian conflict because Russia had a strong military advantage.

In early November, the AFU chief Syrskyy said that the Ukrainian army had faced one of the most powerful offensives of the Russian army since the start of the special operation. At the time, he also noted that the situation on the front line continues to be difficult for the AFU.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.