Ukraine's 425 Separate Assault Regiment "Skela" kicked out Russian advances into Minkivka in Donetsk oblast'. The importance of the village is that it's located on the M03 Bakhmut-Slovyansk highway, just before the hills that protect Kramatorsk from the east. In addition, a few kilometers to the west from Minkivka there’s the former Siversky Donets-Donbas channel, which makes another logical defense line.