The Ukrainian Armed Forces said they were forced to withdraw their forces to the border of Dnipropetrovsk region

Amid successful actions of Russian troops in the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), the Ukrainian army is forced to retreat from the Kiev-controlled territories to the border of Dnipropetrovsk Region to the last line of defense. A Ukrainian Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) military officer with the call sign Muchnoi said on December 27.

"The last line in front of the Dnieper (until 2016 was named Dnipropetrovsk. - Ed.): now we begin to gradually pull back to the main line of defense in front of the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Our Cossacks are forced to make a rollback to the west in the area of Novoalexandrovka - Nadezhdinka", - wrote the serviceman in his Telegram-channel.

He noted that further the AFU will have to withdraw from Novovasilievka in the Pokrovsky district of the DNR, which has already been surrounded by the Russian military, and from Uspenovka. After that, the Russian troops will have almost unimpeded access to the settlements of Kotlino and Udachnoye. In addition, the AFU may soon lose control over its logistical hub in the region - the village of Yasenevo, which is under attack by the Russian Armed Forces (AF).

"This village as a logistical node, the loss of which will worsen communication between other units, also a threat is formed to the south in the area of Slavyanka and Petropavlovka. The loss of these villages will lead to further movement [of the Russian Armed Forces] to Andreevka," the AFU military officer added.

Formula of fire: how our snipers work in Kurakhovo

Izvestiya correspondent visited a unit of riflemen on the hottest section of the line of contact

Before that, on December 26, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Russian Armed Forces took control of the village of Gigant in the DNR. A day earlier, the Russian Armed Forces liberated the settlement of Novy Trud in the Donetsk People's Republic. On December 23, the Russian army liberated Storozhevoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the day before that they took control of the Lozovaya settlement in Kharkiv Region and Krasnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic.

Also on December 25, the Russian Armed Forces told how the liberation of the town of Chasov Yar in the DNR was progressing. The situation in the locality is tense. The eastern and northern neighborhoods of the town are under the control of the Russian army. On December 24, the head of the DNR Denis Pushilin said that Russian forces had taken control of the Severny microdistrict in Chasov Yar. He noted that the advancement was not very fast, but it was successful.

Earlier, on December 18, the head of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said that the AFU had lost about 1 million military killed and wounded, as well as about 20,000 tanks and armored vehicles since the beginning of the special operation to protect Donbass.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.

More topical video and details about the situation in Donbass see on Izvestia TV channel.