Military servicemen told about the storming of the Novopustynka settlement in the DNR

Soldiers of the 15th Independent Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Center group of troops who took part in the liberation of the village of Novopustynka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) described the course of the assault on December 24.

With the support of an armored group, the attacking troops swiftly entered the forest belts close to Novopustynka and worked on the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) units in fortifications and firing points.

After that, an assault on the settlement was carried out from three sides in small groups, first the Russian military hit the frontal defenses and captured the first houses, after which bypass groups went into the flanks of the enemy's defenses. Ukrainian servicemen attempted to bring reinforcements for a counterattack, but were stopped by artillery fire and mine barriers. Part of the equipment and personnel of the AFU was destroyed, the rest left the battlefield fleeing.

"The task was accomplished with success. The wooded area was cleared. The first house was also cleared. We struggled a little: we had to work with a grenade launcher, fired grenades. Two surrendered, one managed to escape. We then caught him on another building. And we started to fight our way out," said company commander Senior Lieutenant Andrei Sapozhnikov.

After the liberation of the settlement, the assault guardsmen installed the flag of Russia on one of the buildings.

"The forehead broke and further continued to wind up groups, we drove in on buggies, on motorcycles, further began to cut off the enemy, one group went into the middle of the settlement, the other at the end, thus we did not let them counterattack and retreat," - commented Sapozhnikov.

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Before that, on December 21, units of the Southern Group of Russian troops liberated the settlement of Ostrovsky in the DNR as a result of decisive actions. A day earlier, on December 20, the Russian Armed Forces liberated the settlements of Uspenovka and Novopustynka in the DNR. The ministry said in a statement that Uspenovka was liberated as a result of the actions of units of the South group, while the Center liberated Novopustynka. During the week, 59 Ukrainian militants surrendered to captivity at the line of contact.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.

More topical videos and details about the situation in Donbass, see on Izvestia TV channel.