RUSSIA has forced Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the town of Vuhledar, perched atop a tactically significant hill in eastern Ukraine, after more than two years of fighting, military officials said today.

Vuhledar is the latest in a growing number of urban settlements to fall to the Russians. It follows a vicious summer campaign along the eastern front that saw Kiev cede several thousand square miles of territory.

Ukraine’s Khortytsia ground forces formation, which commands eastern regions including Donetsk, said in a statement posted on Telegram that it was withdrawing troops from Vuhledar to “protect the military personnel and equipment.”

“In an attempt to take control of the city at any cost, reserves were directed to carry out flanking attacks, which exhausted the defence of the units of the armed forces of Ukraine. 

“As a result of the enemy’s actions, there arose a threat of encircling the city,” the statement said.

Vuhledar is a tactically significant town, situated at the confluence of two major roads. Dominant heights and proximity to railway lines offer Moscow greater protection for their own logistics routes, and a better vantage point for attacks against Ukrainian forces and supply lines feeding the south.

Its capture is a major victory for Moscow, bringing it closer to the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.