A "
fierce
" battle is underway for Vougledar, a city in eastern Ukraine, which Russian forces are trying to conquer, both sides said on Friday, with Kiev assuring that Moscow "
exaggerated
" the success of its offensive.
The head of the Russian occupation of the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said overnight "
waiting for good news
" from Vougledar, a mining town which had 15,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion.
"
The coming encirclement and liberation of the city will solve some things
," he told the Ria Novosti agency, stressing that a victory would "
change the balance of power on the front
" by opening the way to an offensive towards the cities of Pokrovsk and Kurakhové, located further north.
One of his advisers, Ian Gagine, told the Tass news agency on Friday that "
serious, brutal fighting
" was underway and that Russian forces had "
established themselves in the southeast and east of the city
".
"Fierce Fighting"
The spokesman for the Ukrainian army for the eastern zone, Serguiï Tcherevaty, for his part confirmed "
fierce fighting
", but assures that the Russians have been repelled.
"
The enemy is indeed seeking to achieve success in this sector but it is not achieving it thanks to the efforts of the Defense Forces of Ukraine
," he said on television.
"
The enemy exaggerates, to put it mildly, his success
," he added: "
in the face of his losses, the enemy retreats
."
Ukraine said this week that the outnumbered Russian army had intensified its assaults in the east including on Vougledar and Bakhmout, the latter of which has been a Russian target for months despite heavy casualties.
Russian forces and troops from the paramilitary group Wagner recently captured Soledar, a town north of Bakhmout, a first success in many months and a series of humiliating setbacks for the Kremlin.
Russia has mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists and convicts in an attempt to break through Ukrainian lines and conquer the rest of Ukrainian Donbass.
kyiv says it inflicts huge losses on the Russians, but points out that their numerical superiority makes the fighting particularly difficult.
Ukraine and Russia are preparing, according to observers, offensives at the end of the winter or in the spring to try to win victories which they hope will be decisive for the outcome of the war.
