DONETSK, February 27. /TASS/. Russian forces have cut off all supplies to the Ukrainian forces in Artyomovsk (Ukrainian name - Bakhmut) and all roads to the city are under their control, military-political expert Yan Gagin, an adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told TASS on Monday.
"Artyomovsk has been encircled. Our forces control the roads leading to the city. The supply of ammunition to the Ukrainian garrison has been disrupted. The rotation and replenishment of manpower has been stopped," he said.
Gagin stressed that the Artyomovsk trap would be locked soon. In fact, he said, Ukraine has lost this crucial logistic hub and with it, thousands of soldiers and mercenaries and a large amount of military equipment.
On February 25, Gagin told TASS that the Russian artillery controlled all routes and roads to Artyomovsk, thus upsetting all attempts to deliver supplies to the Ukrainian troops in the city.
Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR. It has been an important transport hub for delivering supplies to the Ukrainian army group in Donbass. Fierce battles are going on for the city. On February 16, the acting head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, announced that Russian forces had taken all main heights overlooking Artyomovsk.