Toretsk

Russia has announced that it is tightening its encirclement of Ukrainian forces in the town of Vuhledar (Ugledar) in the Donetsk region. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Ukrainian troops in Vuhledar find themselves in a semicircle, with the town being shelled from multiple directions.

The Russian military has announced its capture of the village of Pivdenne in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Located approximately 6 kilometers southeast of Toretsk, a significant Ukrainian fortress and coal-mining town, Pivdenne has been a target for Russian advances since June.

Authorities in Ukraine have initiated a compulsory evacuation of the cities of Toretsk and Pokrovsk, currently under Kyiv's control in the Donetsk region, as reported by Vadym Filashkin, governor of the Donetsk regional military administration, to rbc.ru.

Russian forces have escalated attacks near Toretsk, a frontline town in eastern Ukraine that has remained relatively calm over recent months of fighting, officials and AFP journalists reported Wednesday.

Ukrainian forces lacking critical manpower and arms have struggled to hold the line in the eastern Donbas region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia.