THE Russian army has advanced into the eastern part of the long-contested town of Toretsk in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian army.
“The fighting is taking place in Toretsk itself.
“The situation is unstable, the fighting is literally house by house,’’ Anastasia Bobovnikova, the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian forces, said on local television.
According to Bobovnikova, the Russian units have already fought their way to the town’s centrally located coal mine.
She said, more than 30,000 people lived in the mining town in the Donetsk region before the Russian invasion.
In spite of the fighting, thousands were still said to be holding out in the heavily destroyed urban area.
According to the Ukrainian general staff, heavy fighting has also been raging on the front between Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
Military observers from both sides report that Ukrainian troops were increasingly under pressure near the town of Selydove.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for more than two and a half years.
Kiev is calling for Western powers to supply more long-range weapons to stop Russian attacks and attempt to force a peace.
Forcing a peace is seen as a crucial moment for the Ukraine war ahead of U.S. elections.
Leaders of the countries giving most support to Ukraine, including U.S. President Joe Biden, are set to meet at the U.S. base in Ramstein in Germany on Saturday.
