Ukrainian forces open fire on Russian forces in the Donetsk region on August 17 – Photo: AFP
The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 19 that its forces had captured the town of Zalizne in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine.
The town of Zalizne, known to Russia as Artyomovo since Soviet times, borders the city of Toretsk, a long-standing stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region. At the same time, Russian forces are accelerating their advance on the city of Toretsk.
Zalizne had a pre-war population of about 5,000 people.
The city of Toretsk lies near the front line for territories captured by Russian-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia is making gains in twin offensives toward Toretsk and the city of Pokrovsk, another stronghold in the Donetsk region, while Ukrainian forces are trying to push deeper into Russia’s border region of Kursk, Reuters reported.
The Pokrovsk front remains the most heavily fought area in eastern Ukraine with a record number of clashes reported last week.
The head of the Pokrovsk city military administration, Serhiy Dobriak, stressed on August 19 that civilians should leave as soon as possible.
Speaking to a Ukrainian radio station, Mr. Dobriak said people here only have “1 to 2 weeks” to evacuate, given the speed of Russian forces’ advance.
On the same day, August 19, Forbes Ukraine magazine quoted Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk as saying that Ukraine predicted that Russia would increase its troop numbers on the Ukrainian battlefield to 800,000 by the end of this year.
Accordingly, Russian forces currently have about 600,000 troops in occupied territories in Ukraine.