Russian forces have begun an assault on the eastern Ukrainian city of Vukhlendar, a stronghold that has resisted Russian attack since the start of the war in 2022, according to Russian war bloggers and state media.

“Russian units have entered Buhlendar – the assault on the city has begun,” according to Yuriy Podoliaka, a Ukrainian-born pro-Russian war blogger. Many pro-Russian bloggers who write about developments on the war front confirmed the attack.

Russian state media reported that the city in the Donetsk region, which some describe as a stronghold because of its resistance to the Russian offensive, was surrounded by Russian forces and that fighting was taking place to the east of the settlement.

Videos posted on social media, the authenticity of which has not been verified, show a town under heavy fire from artillery forces.

Russian forces in eastern Ukraine advanced at their fastest pace in two years in August, according to widely available maps, even as the Russian invasion of Russia’s Kursk region was aimed at forcing Moscow to divert troops elsewhere.

The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces announced today that Russia had made efforts to capture Ukrainian positions near Pavlivka and Bukhledar, without elaborating. There was no immediate comment from the Russian Defense Ministry.