MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. The Russian forces have established a presence in the eastern parts of Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), and fighting is underway near the town, acting DPR leader Denis Pushilin said on Monday.
"Our units continue their advance toward Ugledar. We can say now that the units have gained a foothold in Ugledar’s east, and work is underway in its outskirts, too," Pushilin told Rossiya-24 television.
It is too early to say when Ugledar could be taken under Russian troops’ control, because the enemy has not yet been given instructions to retreat and it had the time to establish itself in the town, he added.
On Thursday, Russian forces gained a foothold in the outskirts of Ugledar, Igor Kimakovsky, an adviser to the DPR’s acting head, reported.
Ugledar, a scene of fierce fighting, is located southwest of Donetsk. As the DPR explained, the town is a major logistics hub and its seizure will help cut off the Ukrainian army supplies in the Maryinka area from where the western part of Donetsk is shelled. Yan Gagin, another adviser to Pushilin, told TASS earlier that the seizure of Ugledar would make it possible to deliver strikes on the Ukrainian military in several directions.