WATCH Russian troops clear key frontline city
The Russian Ministry of Defense has released frontline footage of its forces operating in the key logistics hub of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
The city is now fully under the control of Moscow’s forces as of Monday, along with Volchansk in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, the chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to a command post on November 30.
In the raw video footage provided by the MOD, soldiers of Russia’s Center joint group of forces can be seen sprinting from cover to cover and clearing buildings in Krasnoarmeysk.
As part of a large urban cluster and a key rail and road junction, the city serves as an important logistical hub.
Ukrainian forces in the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov area have been encircled for weeks, with the latter city now under Russian control, according to the Kremlin.
Russian forces have also begun to push Ukrainian troops out of Gulyaypole in Zaporozhye Region, according to Gerasimov’s report to Putin.
Last week, Putin warned that Ukraine’s entire battle line across Zaporozhye Region could collapse after a rapid Russian advance bypassed its fortifications.
The Kremlin has maintained that it prefers a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict but has said that it will push towards its goals militarily while Kiev refuses to compromise in the peace talks.
