The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, communicated this Friday that Russian troops have managed to take control of the strategic Ukrainian locality of Dobropilia, located in the east of the country. The leader has described this military advance as a "milestone that opens the doors" to the rest of the disputed region of Donetsk.
As he explained, the head of the Russian General Staff, Valeri Gerasimov, was the first to convey the information about the capture of "one of the main strongholds" of the Ukrainian forces on the Dnipropetrovsk front. This locality is located less than 10 kilometers from the line that marks the administrative boundary with the Donetsk region.
"Right now, search operations are being carried out to identify and neutralize the Ukrainian soldiers hiding in the basements of the buildings," Gerasimov pointed out, in statements disseminated by the Russian agency Interfax.
For the moment, the Ukrainian Army has not issued any official reaction to this announcement from Moscow.