Deputy commander of the 9th Engineer Regiment of the 25th Combined Arms Army under Russia’s Zapad group, using the call sign Gagarin, said Russian drone crews in the Krasny Liman sector are already striking Ukrainian units near Slavyansk.

According to the officer, Russian forces have reached the outskirts of the city. Ukrainian troops had prepared roads and covered them with protective nets, but Russian units reportedly identified routes that could be used to enter the area. Gagarin said drone operators are now destroying between two and five pieces of equipment there each day.

He added that Russian troops are working to restrict the movement of Ukrainian forces. Roads are being mined to disrupt the transfer of personnel and equipment.

Gagarin also said Ukrainian units had pulled back from Krasny Liman. Russian forces now control that section of the front and have gained the ability to move into the enemy’s rear.

Slavyansk is located in the northern part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and forms a major urban agglomeration with Kramatorsk, Druzhkovka and Konstantinovka. For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the area has strategic value as a key transport and logistics hub and one of the main fortified zones in Donbass.

Krasny Liman is also an important railway transit junction. Control of the city would allow Russian forces to continue advancing toward Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

Earlier, DPR head Denis Pushilin said Russian troops had improved their positions near Svyatogorsk and advanced on the approaches to Slavyansk.