Donetsk, Aug 23 — DAN. Coalition forces have advanced on the Donetsk and Artyomovsk axes over the past 24 hours; the liberation of Maryinka is nearing completion, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

“The offensive on the Donetsk axis is developing successfully, ” the Ministry said. “The liberation of Maryinka is nearing completion; 75 percent of the settlement is already under control of coalition forces. The encirclement of the Ukrainian army group in the Avdeyevka area is ongoing.”

In the Kodema village area north of Gorlovka, coalition forces blocked Ukraine’s elite 214th OPFOR Battalion from three sides. On the Artyomovsk axis, coalition forces advanced to the Zaitsevo settlement (not to be confused with Gorlovka’s Zaitsevo neighborhood), a key town defense point.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported major success on the Kherson-Nikolayev axis.*jk