MELITOPOL, December 17. /TASS/. The liberation of the settlement of Annovka will make it possible to reinforce Russian troops in the city of Kurakhovo, where stiff fighting against Ukrainian forces continues, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian Public Chamber, said.

"The liberation of Annovka means that our forces can be redeployed to Kurakhovo to eliminate the enemy there and advance further westward to the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic - TASS)," Rogov, who chairs the Public Chamber’s commission for issues of sovereignty, patriotic projects and support for veterans, told TASS.

The Russian defense ministry reported earlier on Tuesday that units of Russia’s Battlegroup South had liberated the settlement of Annovka in the DPR.