MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. The city of Artyomovsk (Ukrainian name - Bakhmut), which Kiev has for some time described as the Ukrainian forces’ impregnable fortress has turned into a veritable "black hole," Yan Gagin, an adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, said on the Rossiya-24 round-the-clock TV news channel.

"He [Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky] has long called it a fortress city, the loss of which, in principle, would be tantamount to the loss of the frontline. This fortress city has now turned into a black hole that sucks in enemy manpower," Gagin said.

Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR. Fierce battles for the city are in progress. According to the latest reports, the Russian forces have cut off or taken under fire control all paved roads to the city. Spring slush and mud greatly impede the delivery of supplies to Ukrainian troops in the city.

On February 20, Zelensky vowed that the Ukrainian army would fight for Artyomovsk ``as long as it is reasonable." Additional units continue to be brought to the city. As retired Lieutenant-Colonel of the Lugansk People's Republic’s militia Andrey Marochko told TASS, Kiev has even sent some under-age conscripts to the area of hostilities. On Monday, Gagin said that the Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk were trapped just like they were in Debaltsevo in 2015.