"In Ugledar, there is a gradual encirclement of the city. It is already actually in a semicircle from the east and southeast. The capture of the city follows the same pattern as in Artemovsk - to take the city 'in pincers,'" Kimakovsky said.
The official added that Kiev had significant difficulties in supplying ammunition and deploying additional forces in the city because the Russian military has taken under fire control of the highway from Krasnoarmiisk to Ugledar.
Pushilin said on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops have entrenched at industrial facilities in Ugledar and have yet to receive orders to retreat.
Russian forces take control of former kindergarten used by Ukrainian troops in the settlement of Alexandrovka, Kherson Region. August 15, 2022.
© Sputnik / Konstantin Mikhailchevsky
/ Moments prior, Kimakovsky stated that Russian forces had gained a foothold in Artemovsk, and that Russian artillery was controlling all approaches of the city.
Artemovsk is located north of Donetsk in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR and is an important transport hub for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in Donbass.
Earlier in January, Russia gained control over the strategic city of Soledar, about six miles from Artemovsk, securing the ground to attempt an encirclement of the Ukrainian troops stationed there. The capture of Soledar has opened the way to the bridgehead of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, which can become a turning point in wrestling control over the entire territory of DPR from Ukraine, according to Pushilin.