The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 18 that Russian forces had established control over Orekhovatka and Krasnopodolye in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

According to the ministry’s latest report on the special military operation, Orekhovatka was taken by units of Russia’s South group of forces. Assault troops broke through Ukrainian defenses and entered the settlement. Drone strikes also played a significant role in the advance by disrupting supplies to the Ukrainian garrison, the ministry said.

Units of the Center group of forces took part in the operation in Krasnopodolye. The Russian Defense Ministry said control of the village gives Russian troops direct access toward Dobropolye, described by the ministry as a major Ukrainian defense hub.

Orekhovatka is located in the Kramatorsk district of the DPR and is part of the Nikolayev urban community. According to the 2001 census cited in the source material, the settlement had a population of 172.

Krasnopodolye is situated in the Dobropolye district of the DPR and is administratively part of the Dobropolye rural council. The same census recorded 281 residents there.

Both settlements had previously appeared several times in Russian Defense Ministry reports, including statements concerning strikes on Ukrainian military positions.

The ministry also reported that Ukrainian Armed Forces units lost about 1,445 personnel across the special military operation zone over the previous 24 hours.

A day earlier, Russian officials reported that Russian troops had taken the Andreevskaya community in the DPR and Novosoloshino in the Zaporozhye region.