MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. All positions of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) town of Maryinka are exposed to Russian fire, acting DPR head Denis Pushilin has said.

"Speaking of Maryinka - all positions of the adversary are now exposed to our fire. We see everything and try to eliminate members of Ukrainian armed groups at the first opportunity," he told Russia’s Channel One on Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, Pushilin said Russian forces were controlling 50 out of Maryinka’s 59 residential quarters, and practically all Ukrainian positions were in sight. In his words, Russian forces are advancing steadily, despite Ukrainian forces’ attempts to offer resistance.

Maryinka is a town with a population of around 10,000 west of Donetsk. Remaining Ukrainian forces in the area have entrenched themselves in the residential sector on the town’s western outskirts, while all multi-storey buildings are already under Russian control. On April 11, Pushilin said that Russian troops had considerably improved their positions in the town, taking under control Ukraine’s major strategic stronghold in the area on the territory of a local tire repair plant. DPR officials said earlier that liberation of Maryinka would put Alexandrovka, the Petrovsky and Tekstilshchik districts of Donetsk out of reach for Ukrainian shelling attacks.