The military man, who cited Russian intelligence data, referred on his Telegram channel, that for the mentioned purpose Kiev moved, more or less, combat-ready units to the west of the settlement and reinforced positions in the area of supply roads.
Marochko explained that the Ukrainian Armed Forces reinforced their artillery and fired at the Russian troops from the town of Chasov Yar.
The leader of the Wagner military group, businessman Evgueni Prigozhin, considers that the Ukrainian forces will fight to the end for Atyromovsk , as they have created four groups to block the Russian forces.
Artiomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and is an important transport hub for supplying Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region.
The city is the site of heavy fighting. On February 16, the acting head of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said that Russian forces seized all the main heights near the city, as well as some surrounding villages.
jrr/jav/lam/gfa.