The Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState reported that Russian troops ‘have occupied Kurakhovo and also advanced in the districts of Andriivka, Solene and Novoselka’. This data coincides with the Russian Defence Ministry’s statement on 6 January that the city had been captured. However, the Ukrainian command has not yet officially confirmed the loss of the locality.
The significance of Kurakhovo
Before the full-scale war, Kurakhovo, located in the south of Donetsk Oblast, was home to about 18,000 people. The city played an important role as an industrial centre of the region and was a logistical hub for Ukrainian troops. Its location on the Zaporizhzhya-Donetsk highway made Kurakhovo strategically important to support the fighting in the areas of Maryinka, Uhledar and Krasnogorivka.