Russian troops from the Center group have taken control of Vodyanskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

On the same sector of the front, Russian forces struck units from three Ukrainian mechanized brigades, as well as jaeger and assault brigades, two marine brigades and four National Guard brigades. Fighting took place near Belozerskoye, Dobropolye, Gruzskoye, Yuryevka, Rayskoye, Annovka, Novofedorovka and Matyashevo in the DPR, as well as near Maryevka in the Dnepropetrovsk Region.

The Russian Defense Ministry put Ukrainian losses in the area at up to 380 servicemen. Six armored combat vehicles, seven motor vehicles, one artillery piece and two electronic warfare stations were also destroyed.

Vodyanskoye is a settlement in the Dobropolye city council of the former Donetsk Region. About 1,700 people lived there before the fighting began. The settlement lies on the Kulichka River, roughly one kilometer southeast of Krasnopodolye. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on August 18 that Vodyanskoye had come under Russian control.

The advance around Vodyanskoye allows the Center group to widen its foothold south of Dobropolye. War correspondent Alexander Kots assessed that the leading Russian positions are now around three kilometers from the city, with no other settlements between them and Dobropolye.

In his assessment, however, Russian forces need to secure their flanks before launching an offensive on the city. That would require taking Matyashevo and Chernigovka.

Dobropolye is regarded as the main Ukrainian stronghold in the western part of the DPR. Russian forces are also closing in on the city from the east, advancing from the direction of Rodinskoye.

If Dobropolye comes under Russian control, units of the Center group would be able to free up forces for a further push toward Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk from the west, where Ukrainian forces have no major fortifications.