DONETSK, January 23. /TASS/. The populated locality of Krasnopolyevka in the vicinity of Soledar in the DPR has come under the control of Russia’s forces, the DPR territorial defense headquarters reported on Monday.

"As of January 23, 2023, Russia’s Armed Forces liberated Dvurechye and Krasnopolyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," according to a statement on the headquarters’ Telegram channel.

On January 21, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the liberation of Dvurechye in the DPR.

Soledar is about 100 kilometers north of Donetsk and until recently was part of the Ukrainian defense line stretching from Artyomovsk to Seversk. On January 12, Soledar was cleared of Ukrainian formations, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. According to Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, full control over this city makes it possible to cut off the supply routes for Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine) and subsequently block and encircle the units remaining there.

Ukraine has refused to acknowledge the loss of Soledar. First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky told TASS that doing so would be a failure both for the Kiev regime and NATO which has been flooding Ukraine with weapons because control over the city is of paramount importance, particularly in geopolitical terms.