Russian forces announced today that have captured the villages of Stelmakhovka in Luhansk region and Nikolaevka in Donetsk region, AFP and TASS reported, citing information from the Ministry of Defense, cited by BTA.
The Russian army continues to make progress against Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine, who are outnumbered and lack sufficient firepower, AFP noted.
The settlement is located about fifteen kilometers from Pokrovsk, a major logistics center that has been a target for Russian troops advancing on it for several weeks. The Russian offensive forced the local authorities to order the evacuation of families with children from the city and its surroundings on August 19.
The situation is “extremely difficult” for the Ukrainian army near Pokrovsk, President Volodymyr Zelensky also admitted yesterday. “Russia's main efforts and greatest forces are concentrated there,” he said.
Despite the surprise offensive launched by Kiev on August 6 in Russia's Kursk region, Moscow's forces continue to steadily advance into Ukraine's Donetsk region, which remains at the center of hostilities and which Russia intends to completely conquer, AFP points out.
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Yesterday, however, Zelensky assured that the offensive on the territory of Russia relieves the pressure in the eastern part of his country. “You have to understand that all the pressure we transferred to Russia means that it cannot put more pressure on our Donetsk region,” he noted.