Despite the blockade, some 80 Ukrainian soldiers trapped in the town of Svyatogorsk managed to escape Russian troops by swimming.
The Ukrainian military is using barrier troops, a discipline-keeping unit consisting hardcore nationalists, to prevent other units from retreating, Russian military claims.
On Monday Ukrainian barrier troops blew up a road bridge in the town of Svaytogorsk in the northern part of the Donetsk People's Republic DPR Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov, said during a media briefing. The move left Ukrainian military units, namely remnants of the battalions of the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade and the 81st Separate Airborne Brigade trapped in the town.
The troops abandoned military equipment and their weaponry and scattered along the banks of the Seversky Donets river, cut off from the main forces and supply lines due to the destruction of the bridge, Konashenkov said.
Konashenkov praised the retreat of Ukrainian soldiers, saying it was the right thing to do and save their lives instead of defending the useless Kiev regime. The official said that they called for all military personnel and members of the Ukrainian territorial defense units to follow this example and stop thinkingless resistance in order to save their lives.
Ukraine hasn't offered any comment on the developments in Svyatogorsk, as claimed by the Russian military.
In late February, Russia attacked the neighboring state after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied it plans to retake the two republics by force.