BERLIN, August 9. /TASS/. Ukraine is growing increasingly concerned over the worsening situation in the Kramatorsk and Slavyansk area, where Russian troops are mounting their pressure, Germany’s Bild newspaper said.

If Russia succeeds, Kiev may sustain one of its most serious blows over the past few years, the newspaper wrote. In its view, the situation is getting worse day by day, and the frontline is moving closer to Ukrainian positions.

Vladimir Zelensky said after a meeting with Commander-in-Chief Mikhail Drapaty on August 7 that the Ukrainian army is facing difficulties near Slavyansk in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and is trying to fortify this area.

In early July, Russian troops liberated the town of Konstantinovka in the DPR. At present, they are advancing in the direction of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, as well as in the Dobropolye direction.