MOSCOW - Russian troops have taken control of the militarily strategic town of Chasov Yar in the eastern Donetsk region, the Russian defense ministry announced Thursday.

"As a result of an offensive by Battlegroup South in the Kramatorsk-Druzhkovka area, the town of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People's Republic was liberated," the ministry said in a statement.

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Chasov Yar had served as a strategic stronghold and key logistical hub for Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region.