Vuhledar
Russia secures Vuhledar supply route; Ukraine reduces firepower gap
Russia conquered Vuhledar on the Donetsk-Zaporizhia border this week after an 18-month battle for the town. Vuhledar is located on elevated land near a railway line that carries supplies from Russian-occupied Crimea. Its occupation deprives Ukrainian forces of the ability to disrupt Russian supply routes. They also give Russia control of the nearby H-15 highway, which might help them "eliminate the wide Ukrainian salient in western Donetsk Oblast," according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
Russians claim the vital city of Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine
Russian troops have taken entire control of the eastern city of Vuhledar, which Ukrainian forces have been defending since the start of Moscow's full-fledged assault two and a half years earlier. On Wednesday, Ukraine's eastern military leadership acknowledged that they had urged troops still fighting in areas of the Vuhledar to retreat to prevent being trapped. For more than two years, Russia has attempted to seize this city in order to march further north and reach regional transportation hubs like Kurakhove and Pokrovsk.