Vasyl Chynchyk of the city’s Military Administration said that the Ukraine controls about 40-50% of Toretsk and the rest is under Russian control.
Toretsk is a town located 35 kilometers (20 miles), north of Donetsk Oblast. Russian troops are pushing Ukrainian defenders back step by step.
Chynchyk, speaking on national TV, said that approximately 1,150 people still remain in the ruined city. Toretsk was home to approximately 70,000 people before the invasion.
“We are doing everything we can to evacuate civilians… The security situation only allows for entering the town to evacuate the population during certain periods of time when there is a lull or favorable weather conditions.
The Ukrainian military stated earlier this week that fighting is taking place “at each building entrance” while Russian forces are pushing east along the main Tsentralna Street.
DeepState, a crowdsourced monitoring site, indicates that settlements in the eastern outskirts Toretsk, including Pivnichne and Zalizne as well as Druzhba and Pivdenne, are either fully or nearly entirely under Russian control.
According to the monitoring group’s report, Russian forces have advanced along Tsentralna Street from late September until they reached the center of the town in October.
The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify all claims.
The Kyiv Independent reported that the situation was “very bad” and that if the command didn’t send reserves in the near future, it would be very difficult if not disastrous.
Losing Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast would be a further blow to Ukraine after its forces were forced from Vuhledar to the south. Russian forces continue to push toward Pokrovsk – a key logistic hub located about 50 kilometers (30 miles west of Toretsk).
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