Russian troops liberate key Donbass town – MOD

The former Ukrainian stronghold of Dzerzhinsk has been fully captured by Moscow’s forces after months of intense fighting

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of the Donbass town of Dzerzhinsk on Friday. The location has seen active fighting in recent months, becoming the scene of an intense urban battle as Ukrainian troops mounted counterattacks in an effort to retrieve lost positions.

The town (known as Toretsk in Ukraine) is located to the northwest of the city of Gorlovka in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic. It was formerly a major Ukrainian stronghold, with Kiev’s forces heavily fortifying it since the early stages of the conflict in then-Ukrainian Donbass which broke out in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup.

The town had served as the key staging area for Ukraine to launch artillery, missile, and drone strikes on Gorlovka, which has come under attack on an almost daily basis.

The Russian military seized control of most of Dzerzhinsk by mid-January, although the fighting continued on its northwestern outskirts and in the vicinity of the Toretskaya coal mine, which is adjacent to the town.

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Earlier on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of Druzhba, a small village to the northeast of Dzerzhinsk. The development apparently signals the retreat of the remnants of the Ukrainian forces stationed in the area, likely towards Konstantinovka, a major town around 12km to the northwest of Dzerzhinsk.