MELITOPOL, December 20. /TASS/. Now that Russian troops have gained control of the settlements of Zelenovka and Novy Komar in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Kurakhovo and Velikaya Novosyolka can be liberated much faster, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of a Russian Civic Chamber committee, reported.

"Zelenovka is located southwest of the city of Kurakhovo, and Novy Komar is to the north of Velikaya Novosyolka. The liberation of these settlements hastens the process of liberating major logistics hubs and administrative centers of the city of Kurakhovo and Velikaya Novosyolka, paving the way for our troops to advance westward with greater vigor, freeing the southern Russian territories from Nazi occupation," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

On December 19, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that following a successful offensive, units of Russia's Battlegroup East had liberated the settlements of Zelenovka and Novy Komar in the DPR.