MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The Avdeyevka, Artyomovsk, Maryinka and Ugledar areas are the hottest spots on the frontline, Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin revealed on Monday.

"Our forces are doing their best [to push the Armed Forces of Ukraine as far back as possible]. Unfortunately, it is taking us more time than we would like in terms of ensuring the safety of our cities. There are objective reasons behind it, which include the weather, the amount of weapons and reserves that the enemy continues to deploy to the areas that we view as the hottest ones, which include Avdeyevka, Maryinka, Ugledar and Artyomovsk," he told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Pushilin specified that taking control of Maryinka, where a mop-up operation was already over in the city center, would make it possible to advance towards Krasnogorovka, from where the Ukrainian military was shelling Donetsk. According to the DPR leader, progress in the Avdeyevka area will pave the way for the liberation of Pervomayskoye. As for the situation near Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine), Russian forces are active "in its suburbs, from almost all directions."

The acting DPR head noted that troops were about to complete their mission in Podgornoye, located southeast of Artyomovsk, wiping out enemy troops and reaching new frontiers. "In the Donetsk area, the Yakovlevka settlement was crucial, where a mop-up operation is nearing its end," he added.