Moscow’s troops continue to gain ground in their offensive against the Ukrainian army in Russia’s Donbass, the country’s Defense Ministry said in a series of statements published on Telegram on Tuesday. Russian forces captured the town of Nevelskoe, located some 25km west of Donetsk, the ministry stated.
The assault on Nevelskoe, as well as several other towns in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, resulted in Ukraine losing some 350 soldiers as well as two tanks, four military vehicles and a self-propelled howitzer, a spokesman for the Russian ‘South’ grouping said in a statement.
Kiev has not commented on the developments so far.
Russian troops also advanced away from the recently liberated city of Avdeevka, another military spokesman said, adding that troops repelled a total of 11 counteroffensive attacks by Ukrainian forces in the area. Kiev's forces lost almost 400 soldiers and two armored vehicles in unsuccessful attempts to breach Russian defenses, he added.
Moscow has renewed its own offensive in Donbass over the past several months. In February, Russian forces liberated Avdeevka – a major stronghold that was a key part of the Ukrainian defensive line in the region. The city’s significance was recognized by Washington, which called it “one of the critical cities” for Kiev’s war effort.
“The Russians started taking some other towns and villages,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said late last month, adding that Moscow’s forces were “on the move.”
In early March, Russian forces captured several other Donbass towns, including Lastochkino, Severnoe and Petrovskoe.
The operations have also resulted in the destruction of equipment supplied to Kiev by the West. Earlier in March, the Russian military posted several videos showing Abrams tanks and a HIMARS multiple rocket launcher being destroyed.