MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. Russian forces have gained a foothold in the east and southeast of Ugledar and some groups are entering the town to conduct reconnaissance by fire, Yan Gagin, adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on Friday.

"Fierce and severe battles are raging on the Ugledar outskirts. We have, indeed, gained a foothold in the town’s southeast and east and fighting is on there and artillery is at work. Some groups are making attempts to get into the town to conduct reconnaissance by fire," he said in a live broadcast on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

Meanwhile, Igor Kimakovsky, another adviser to the DPR’s acting head, said earlier on Friday that small Ukrainian army groups were attempting counter-attacks on Russian forces who had gained a foothold on the outskirts of Ugledar but Russia’s artillery was successfully pounding the enemy troops.

Ugledar, a scene of fierce fighting, is located southwest of Donetsk. As the DPR explained, the town is a major logistics hub and its seizure will help cut off the Ukrainian army supplies in the Maryinka area from where the western part of Donetsk is shelled.

As adviser to the DPR leader Gagin earlier told TASS, the seizure of Ugledar will help deliver strikes on the Ukrainian military in several directions.