MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Russian troops are advancing practically in all the areas of the front line in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin said in a live broadcast on the Rossiya-24 television channel on Monday.

"[Russian forces] are advancing practically in all the areas of the front line," he said, replying to a corresponding question from the news presenter.

The DPR territorial defense headquarters reported earlier on Monday that Russian troops had liberated the communities of Krasnopolyevka and Dvurechye near Soledar.

DPR leader Pushilin said in an interview with TASS on December 7 that almost 340 communities had been liberated in the republic since February 2022.

The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17 last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.