General staff chief says Ukraine forces have been able to stabilize situation near Donetsk

17:44, 29.01.2015 1 min read

The chief of the Ukrainian armed forces general staff has said claimed on Thursday that the Ukrainian military had been able to "stabilize the situation in the vicinity of Donetsk."

"We have been able to stabilize the situation in the vicinity of Donetsk - in Olenivka, Pisky, Avdiyivka. We have been able to seize some positions and today we completely control the territory where the Donetsk airport is located," Viktor Muzhenko said during a meeting with foreign attaches posted in Kyiv.

He also said the situation in the northern part of Horlivka had been stabilized.

In talking about the situation in Luhansk region, Muzhenko said particularly heavy fighting was underway in the eastern and southern parts of the city of Debaltseve. "There are some threats, and we are carrying out measures to forestall or eliminate them," he said.

Muzhenko said Ukrainian forces, especially those positioned along the boundary of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, remained under heavy artillery fire.