DONETSK, June 21. /TASS/. Russian forces wiped out a Ukrainian dugout with ammunition and an artillery unit’s headquarters near the settlement of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian artillery gunner with the call sign Mongol from the southern battlegroup’s separate artillery brigade said on Wednesday.

"The day before yesterday, we crushed their mortar team, yesterday we destroyed a dugout with ammunition and an artillery headquarters," the gunner said.

Ukrainian militants are entrenched in the residential area, using civilians as human shields but Russian artillery squads destroy the enemy by pinpoint strikes with the help of aerial reconnaissance, he said.

Acting DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) Head Denis Pushilin told TASS on June 16 that Ukrainian troops were making active attempts in the Avdeyevka area but Russian forces kept the situation under control. The acting DPR head said on June 14 that Russian forces were moving forward but slower than it would be desirable.

Avdeyevka with a population of about 30,000 people is located north of Donetsk. The Ukrainian military has turned the town into its stronghold over the period of the conflict in Donbass. From Avdeyevka, Ukrainian troops have been shelling Donetsk, Makeyevka, Yasinovataya and their outskirts.