Russian troops have liberated key frontline town of Toretsk

Russian troops have captured another key town in the Donetsk region near the Ukraine frontline, the Ukrainian military says.

The town of Toretsk, known until 2016 under the former name of Dzerzhinsk, was liberated by Russian troops entering the outskirts of the eastern Ukraine town.

Ukraine's military said late on Monday, "The situation is unstable; fighting is taking place literally at every entrance (to the city)."

"The Russians have entered the eastern outskirts of the city," Anastasiia Bobovnikova, spokesperson of the Operational Tactical Group "Luhansk" told Ukraine's national broadcaster.

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The Russian Defense Ministry has yet to announce the victory.

Earlier on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement its forces inflicted damage to manpower and equipment near several settlements in the area, including near Toretsk.

Russian troops had been advancing towards the hilltop town of Toretsk since August, taking village by village with its infantry aided by the increased use of guided airstrikes.

On Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said its troops took control of two more settlements amid its ongoing offensive in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

In its statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the country’s troops liberated the settlements of Zoryanoye Pervoye and Zolotaya Niva.

According to the summary of the special military operation, over the past day, the Russian Armed Forces hit a warehouse and workshop for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as concentrations of manpower and military equipment of the Ukrainian troops in 142 districts. Air defense systems shot down three US-made HIMARS rockets and 49 UAVs.

Russia’s Defense Ministry earlier announced that the country's armed forces had liberated the bastion town of Vuhledar.

Meanwhile, Russian military bloggers, including a group of military analysts who ran the prominent Rybar Telegram channel, said Russian troops continue to advance towards the center of Toretsk.

Russia's continuous victories have underlined its superiority in manpower and weaponry compared to the Kiev forces.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has been constantly pleading to his Western backers for more money, weapons and munitions.

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"I’ve often had to say the situation at the front is tough, and is getting tougher, and it’s that time again."

Zelensky has instructed his generals to do "everything that can be done" to minimize the Russian troops' advances.

However, Ukrainian military analysts say the fall of Toretsk would give Russian troops a huge advantage, allowing them to obstruct key logistical routes connecting the operational rear of Kiev forces in the area with the combat zone, including the major Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka road.

Meanwhile, Russia has dismissed Zelensky’s latest proposal for a peace plan to end the war.

Late last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “This is not the first time that we have heard such statements from representatives of the Kiev regime.”

“We are continuing our special military operation and will achieve all of our goals.”

Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine’s Donbas in February 2022 after several years of international negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis. The main objective of the operation is to liberate the Donbas region.

Since the war started, Western countries have been giving Kiev vast diplomatic and financial support, providing its forces with arms and munitions despite repeated warnings by the Kremlin that such a policy would only prolong the war.

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