MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Fighters of Russia’s Battlegroup South are steadily advancing in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) following the liberation of the Nikolaipolye settlement, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"The liberation of the settlement, located in the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk metropolitan area, has become possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of reconnaissance units, artillery crews, and UAV operators from the unmanned systems forces. <...> Units of the Battlegroup South continue to advance steadily, liberating territory in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry emphasized that the Russian fighters skillfully breached the enemy’s defenses and thwarted all Ukrainian forces’ attempts to hold the settlement.