Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the liberation of the city of Svyatogorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic from Ukrainian troops, noting that “since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, about 6.5 thousand Ukrainian servicemen have surrendered.”

“Most of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics along the left bank of the Seversky Donets River, including the cities of Krasny Lyman and Svyatogorsk, as well as 15 other settlements, have been liberated,” Shoigu said.

He explained that “the total number of Ukrainian servicemen who have surrendered since the beginning of the Russian special operation to date has reached 6,489 people.”

Shoigu stated: “Over the past ten days of the operation in Ukraine, Russian forces have destroyed 51 pieces of military equipment that was supplied to the Ukrainian army from abroad: 12 armored combat vehicles, 21 155-mm howitzers, two rocket launchers and 16 drones.