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full screen A street in central Kurachove on November 7. Now Russia claims full control over the city. Photo: Anton Shtuka/AP/TT
Russia says it has taken control of a hotly contested small town in eastern Ukraine – which would represent a milestone in the invasion forces’ ongoing advance.
There have been reports for many weeks of fighting inside the town of Kurachove, which has already been largely destroyed. It has now been “completely liberated”, announced the military leadership in Moscow, which claims that its offensive operations can now “increase the pace”.
In mid-December, Russian forces were reported to have entered the center of Kurachove, and just over a week ago, the American think tank Institute for the Study of War assessed that Russia had taken full control of the city. War analysts currently assess that the Russian forces have not continued to advance beyond the city’s built-up area.
Kurachove is located on the front line of Donetsk in southeastern Ukraine and before the outbreak of the large-scale war had at least 20,000 inhabitants. The city is in a corner along the front where Russia has been pushing in an offensive since the end of the summer. The country’s forces have advanced in several directions and then taken control of at least four urban areas, but according to both Ukraine and war analysts, this has happened at great cost in manpower and material.
In the battles for Kurachove, Russia is estimated to have lost large amounts of armored vehicles.