Slavyansk has important meaning to Russians as it is where the civil war started in Ukraine.
[Regnum] Russian troops are just a few kilometers away from Slovyansk in the northern DPR, but the city's liberation is not expected anytime soon. This was announced on March 15 by Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People's Republic.
"This doesn't mean that the issue will be resolved tomorrow," Pushilin said in an interview with TASS.
He explained that the advance of Russian troops is hampered by difficult, rugged terrain.
On February 15, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, announced that Russian troops were advancing on all fronts in the special operation zone. He noted that during the first two weeks of February, in harsh winter conditions, Russian forces had taken control of 12 settlements. Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the liberation of seven more settlements in the DPR, as well as several settlements in other regions.