MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces made a serious but unsuccessful breakthrough attempt in the Artyomovsk area in the past day, said Igor Kimakovsky, an advisor to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

"The enemy was on a serious mission near Artyomovsk yesterday. They tried to break through but failed," he told the Soloviev Live TV channel.

Kimakovsky praised Russian troops for repelling the attack.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said on June 13 that Russia’s Battlegroup South had repelled two Ukrainian attacks south of the city of Artyomovsk. On June 14, Acting DPR head Denis Pushilin told TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that the situation in Artyomovsk was difficult but controllable.

Artyomovsk, located in the northern part of the DPR, served as a key logistics hub for supplying the Ukrainian military in the Donbass and was a major fortified Ukrainian outpost. The battle for the city, which began on August 1, 2022, and ended on May 20, 2023, has proven to be one of the biggest battles to date during Russia’s special military operation.