The former Ukrainian stronghold of Dzerzhinsk has been fully captured by Moscow’s forces after months of intense fighting
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of the Donbass town of Dzerzhinsk on Friday. The location has seen active fighting in recent months, becoming the scene of an intense urban battle as Ukrainian troops mounted counterattacks in an effort to retrieve lost positions.
The mining town (known as Toretsk in Ukraine) is located to the northwest of the city of Gorlovka in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic and had a pre-war population of some 30,000.
It was formerly a major Ukrainian stronghold, with Kiev’s forces heavily fortifying local mines and heaps since the early stages of the conflict in then-Ukrainian Donbass which broke out in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup.
Dzerzhinsk had served as the key staging area for Ukraine to launch artillery, missile, and drone strikes on Gorlovka on an almost daily basis.
The Russian military had seized control of most of Dzerzhinsk by mid-January, although fighting continued on its northwestern outskirts and in the vicinity of the Toretskaya coal mine.
The mine and its environs came under Russian control earlier this week, with the development apparently accelerating the full liberation of Dzerzhinsk.
The Russian Defense Ministry also announced the liberation of Druzhba and Krymskoye, two small villages to the northeast of Dzerzhinsk. The development apparently signals the retreat of the remnants of the Ukrainian forces stationed in the area, likely towards Konstantinovka, a major town around 12km to the northwest of Dzerzhinsk.
Later in the day, the Defense Ministry shared statistics concerning the five-month battle for Dzerzhinsk. Kiev fielded some 40,000 soldiers, comprising eight brigades, as well as foreign mercenaries, to defend the town, the military said. It added that the force included the most motivated and hardline nationalist units.
“Almost every building was turned into a well-equipped and protected long-term firing position. The waste heaps and shafts located in the northern and western parts of the town were used for defense as well,” the Defense Ministry stated.
Ukrainian forces stationed in the area lost about 70% of their personnel, or more than 26,000 troops, with daily casualties averaging 200 servicemen, according to Moscow. More than 240 Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles and over 340 artillery pieces were destroyed during the battle.
The liberation of Dzerzhinsk now opens the way to Konstantinovka and gives the Russian military room to flank Ukrainian forces concentrated near the city of Kramatorsk, located in the northwest of the DPR, the ministry said.
