Ukrainian forces retain control of about half of the territory of the strategic city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine as they seek to push back Russian troops, reported Reuters, referring to today's statement of the local authorities.
"It can be said that approximately 40-50 percent of the city is under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces, while the other half of the territory is captured by the enemy," said on national television the head of the Toretsk City Military Administration, Vasyl Chinchik.
According to military experts, capturing the hilltop town of Toretsk would allow Russian troops to further complicate the organization of Ukrainian forces in most places on the eastern front, Reuters notes.
The Ukrainian army reported eight battles that broke out on the Toretsk front in the last 24 hours, with the largest offensive being in the city and in the direction of the nearby village of Shcherbinivka. Chinchik specified that during the day the Russian forces did not make any progress on the territory of the city.
There are still about 1,150 residents in the city, the evacuation continues with the help of the military and police, added the head of the city administration.
Recently, Russian forces have been advancing in eastern Ukraine gradually but methodically, while after more than two and a half years of war, the Ukrainian army is finally at its strength, notes Reuters and recalls that this month the Russian military captured the strategic city of Ugledar.
p>