MOSCOW. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Russia's central group of forces has taken control of five communities in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.
"As a result of active operations, units from the central group of forces took control of Sviridonovka, Artyomovo, Novgorodskoye, Zhelannoye and Mezhevoye in the DPR and hit detachments of four mechanized brigades, a jaeger brigade, an airborne brigade and an assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and two territorial defense brigades. Twenty-seven enemy counterattacks were repelled," the ministry said.