Moscow (EFE).– Ukrainian troops are withdrawing from the center of Kostiantynivka, one of Kyiv’s strongholds in the eastern Donetsk region, the Russian governor of that territory annexed by Russia, Denis Pushilin, said Monday.
Russian troops have expanded their area of control in the direction of Kostiantynivka, where they have also improved their positions in the south and southwest of the city, Pushilin told Rossiya-24 channel of Russian state television.
He added that cases of abandonment of wounded personnel and equipment have been observed during the withdrawal from the center of Kostiantynivka.
Located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Donetsk, the capital of the region of the same name, Kostiantynivka is only 25 kilometers south of Kramatorsk, one of the main strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the region.
Pushilin said that Russian troops already control a large part of the city of Pokrovsk (known as Krasnoarmeysk in Russia), located about 50 kilometers southwest of Kramatorsk.
He claimed that the Ukrianian troops were totally encircled and had suffered significant losses, adding that they tried to break the encirclement to the north, but were prevented from doing so by Russian units. EFE
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