Russian troops have liberated the city of Konstantinovka, a longstanding major stronghold in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donbass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has announced.

The city, located in the northwest of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), has seen intensive fighting over the past few weeks. The Russian forces have advanced into the city from multiple directions, effectively cutting it in half and surrounding a part of the disorganized Ukrainian garrison.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the development during a visit to an auxiliary command post alongside top military commanders and Defense Ministry officials, Peskov told reporters late on Friday.

“Konstantinovka has been taken under full control. According to the president, it is the first, but very important, stage in the seizing of the entire important Slavyansk-Kramatorsk stronghold,” the spokesman stated.

“The city was turned into a fortified area that appeared virtually impregnable to the Kiev regime, but thanks to the heroism of our military, it has now been completely liberated,” he added.

Konstantinovka is part of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, a string of settlements in the northern part of the DPR. The agglomeration fell under Kiev’s control in the early stages of the conflict in then-Ukrainian Donbass, prompted by the 2014 Maidan coup, and has been heavily fortified over the past decade. Konstantinovka is located roughly 15 km to the south-east of Kramatorsk, with the small town of Druzhkovka lying in between.