OREANDA-NEWS   Artemovsk is in an operational environment, said Yan Gagin, assistant to the acting head of the DPR, on the air of the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"Our forces are closing the ring outside the city. Now there are battles for control of the route of the Yar — Artemovsk Clock," he said.

According to Gagin, the Russian army struck at enemy columns moving along this road, which remains the last way to supply the Ukrainian group. Artemovsk (Ukrainian name — Bakhmut) is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR, north of Gorlovka. Fierce fighting has been going on there in recent weeks. According to the founder of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the liberation of the city will stop the Ukrainian offensive in any direction.

Russia has been conducting a military special operation in Ukraine since February 24. Vladimir Putin called its task "to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." According to the President, the ultimate goal of the operation is the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that guarantee the security of Russia itself.