The loss of Vuhledar will complicate the defense of the southwestern part of the Donetsk region, allowing the Russians to step up attacks in the direction of Pokrovsk.
Taking Vuhledar is also likely to ease pressure on Russia's supply lines across southern Ukraine to Crimea, by pushing Ukrainian forces further from critical Russian rail and road links.
A colonel in a Ukrainian evacuation unit estimated last week that there were around 50 people still trapped in Vuhledar, a fraction of the 14,000 who once lived there.
The capture of Vuhledar also opens up some areas in the region that will be difficult to defend against Russian attack, according to Ukrainian soldiers.
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