On December 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulations to military units after the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the control of the town of Gulaypole, a strategic pillar in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Speaking to the generals during a visit to a forward command post, Mr. Putin emphasized that controlling Gulaypole opens up favorable prospects for further steps in the region.
Earlier on the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense said it had controlled a large solid defense area of Ukraine, centered on the town of Gulaypole.
The agency also released a video recording shelling of Ukrainian defense positions, followed by scenes of Russian soldiers entering and controlling buildings in the town.
The clip ends with images of soldiers raising the Russian flag at various locations in Gulaypole.
According to information from Moscow, this operation helps Russian forces control more than 76 km2 of territory with over 7,000 structures and houses.
The Russian Ministry of Defense believes that Ukrainian units in the region have suffered heavy losses, losing dozens of heavy weapons and many other military vehicles.
Meanwhile, Kiev rejected the claim of losing Gulaypole, but admitted that the situation in this area is very difficult.
In a meeting on December 27, President Putin called the control of Gulaypole "an important result", while emphasizing that this is a step to create an advantage for the Russian army to continue expanding operations in Zaporizhzhia - one of the key fronts in southeastern Ukraine.
Not only Zaporizhzhia, Russian generals also reported to the President on the completion of "cleaning" operations in the city of Dmitrov (Ukraine calls Mirnograd), belonging to the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Previously, Ukrainian forces here were besieged after Russian troops controlled the neighboring city of Krasnoarmeysk, also known as Pokrovsk.
Mr. Putin assessed this development as "an important step towards full control of the DPR".
According to the Russian side, in recent months, their units have maintained a continuous offensive, seizing control of dozens of residential areas in the areas that Moscow announced its annexation, as well as in the Kharkov, Sumy and Dnepropetrovsk regions of Ukraine.
Notably, Russia said it has controlled important logistics hubs such as Krasnoarmeysk in Donetsk and Kupyansk in Kharkov - points considered key to Ukraine's logistics and defense.
Earlier this month, the Russian Ministry of Defense also announced that their forces had controlled Seversk, which was once a major defense stronghold of Ukraine in the DPR.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side often rejects or mitigates statements from Russia, saying that the situation on the battlefield is still volatile and the information needs to be verified independently.
