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Military operation in Ukraine

Russian forces closing in on Artyomovsk, DPR official says

Yan Gagin stressed that the highway was under the fire control of Russian forces and Ukrainian supply convoys traveling along the road had already come under attack

© Andrei Rubtcov/TASS

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. The city of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine) is in an operational encirclement and Russian forces are closing in, Yan Gagin, an advisor to the Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) leader, said on Wednesday.

"Artyomovsk is currently in an operational encirclement and our forces are closing in on the city. Fighting is underway to control the highway connecting Artyomovsk with Chasov Yar because it is the only route that Ukraine can use to provide supplies to its troops in Artyomovsk," Gagin told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

He added that the highway was under the fire control of Russian forces and Ukrainian supply convoys traveling along the road had already come under attack. Gagin was confident that Russian troops would soon take full control of the highway.

Heavy fighting carries on in the Artyomovsk area. Acting Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin said earlier that Russian troops were working to cut off Ukrainian supply routes and fighting was raging in the city’s neighborhoods that used to be controlled by the Ukrainian army.

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