Militant Khodakovsky confirms death of ''Vostok'' battalion commander near Avdiivka. PHOTO

The leader of the "Vostok" terrorist battalion Aleksandr Khodakovskiy confirmed the elimination of the militant commander during today's battle at Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.

Khodakovskiy added a photo of the killed battalion commander, Censor.NET reports citing his Facebook.

"Behind my back stands the battalion commander, Ivan Andreyevich, my old friend and faithful ally. He was among the first who helped me to create "Vostok." He personally led the reinforcement to the positions this morning. And now he's gone. One of the wounded fighters reported the tragic news," he wrote.

Presumably, the mentioned militant was Ivan Balakai, nicknamed Grek.

This morning, the militants attacked the industrial zone of Avdiivka and then stormed the Ukrainian soldiers' positions. Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the attack.