MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, on Monday said allied forces are close to an operational encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Artyomovsk, known in Ukraine as Bakhmut.

"Our units are making headway. They have success in the immediate vicinity of Artyomovsk," he said on Rossiya-24 television. "One can say the situation of an operational encirclement is fairly close."