MOSCOW, October 20 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. Last weekend, the army set a record: the head of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, reported to the president on eight liberated settlements. Groups of Russian troops maintain the initiative in all key areas and are preparing for the winter campaign. Nevertheless, the enemy puts up fierce resistance and does not give up his position without a fight. About the situation on the front line — in the material of RIA Novosti.
Dobropolsky Front
Last week, the Center group of troops was particularly distinguished. Marines of the 61st Separate Guards Brigade of the Northern Fleet and the 177th regiment of the Caspian Flotilla took the 72,000-strong city of Dobropillya in the west of the Donetsk People's Republic. The settlement is located at a commanding height, and a large section of the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region can be controlled from it. In fact, this is the last major fortified area of the enemy in this sector of the front. Now the "Center" can free up forces to attack the rear of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the western direction — along the T-0514 highway.
Russian military personnel
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Sergey Bobylev
This is not the only merit of the group. Last week, the "Center" took the village of Pervomaiskoe, five kilometers north of Dobropillya. The nearest targets are Belozerskoye, Kopani and Novoukrainka. The last two settlements are located on the T-0515 highway connecting Dobropillya with Novodonetsky and Alexandrovka. From Alexandrovka, you can drive to Kramatorsk from the west along the T-0510 highway. Thus, the "Center" organizes an attack on the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk fortified area of the enemy with a wide front along two key routes.
The border area is being cleaned up in parallel. A group of troops liberated Sergeyevka, a village in the Pokrovsky district of the former Donetsk region with a pre—war population of about 620 people. It is located on the border with the Mezhevsky district of Dnipropetrovsk region and in the future should become a springboard for an offensive deep into the territory of Ukraine. The "Center" methodically and consistently knocks out the enemy from the settlements along the E-50 highway to Pavlograd.
The boiler boiled out
The "Northerners" actually completed the defeat of the enemy group, which fell into a pocket in the north-east of the Kharkiv region — near the border with the Shebekinsky district of Belgorod region. 460 square kilometers of territory were liberated, six battalions from the 22nd and 159th separate mechanized brigades were destroyed, as well as four border commandant's offices of the 15th border guard. The remnants of the encirclement have gone into the forest belts, but they will not be able to hold out there for long. Soon the greenery will finally subside and the cold weather will set in. The destruction of the leftovers should not take much time.
Russian military personnel
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Stanislav Krasilnikov
Over the past week, units of the Zapad group of forces took Palamarevka and Kovalevka, villages located nearby, seven kilometers northwest of Kupyansk. A springboard has been formed for the offensive to the east, towards the R—79 highway heading for Veliky Burluk. If it is blocked, the units and formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Kupyansk will lose supplies. As a result, the enemy's position on the right bank of the Oskol River will be shaken.
The Vostok group liberated Velikomikhailovka in the Pokrovsky district of the Dnipropetrovsk region. This is a serious springboard for the development of an offensive into the depths of the region, as well as for a throw in the direction of the urban-type settlement of Pokrovskoye. The latter stands at an important intersection, from where you can move both south towards Orekhovo and west towards the city of Zaporizhia.
The regional center is being approached from the other side. On Monday, the press service of the Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of the village of Omelnik. This settlement is the gateway to the city of Orekhov, the main fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporizhia region. It was from here that the Ukrainian counteroffensive began in the summer of 2023, which by September had already been overwhelmed by Russian drones and tactical aircraft. The "East" has yet to take Vasinovka, Egorovka and Chervonaya Krinitsa in order to secure the flanks before attacking the enemy's main defense center in this direction.
Over the past week, units of the Dnepr group took Malokaterynivka in the Zaporizhia region with a pre-war population of about 3,400 people. It is located on the left bank of the Kakhovsky reservoir, at the confluence of the Konka River, ten kilometers northwest of Stepnogorsk, which the Ministry of Defense announced on December 27, 2025. Moving north through Kushugum and Balabino, the Dnepr can reach the southern outskirts of Zaporizhia with a pre-war population of about 710,000 people. Its assault in the near future is unlikely. Apparently, they will try to block the regional center.
Blows to the rear
In parallel with the offensive on all fronts, the Russian army is actively "terrorizing" the Ukrainian rear. So, on Monday night, drones and missiles hit Kiev. The distribution included the Datagroup data center, one of the largest telecom operators in the country. This is not the first time: at the end of September, Geranium flew into the Inkom business center, where its servers were located. The Ministry of Defense then called the site an intelligence processing hub for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Further — more. An arrival was recorded at the Kiev facilities of the Fire Point enterprise, which produces a wide range of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: from long-range FP—2 drones to FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles and FP-9 ballistic missiles. According to the Ministry of Defense, a logistics hub with components for these "toys" was destroyed.
It arrived in Irpen towards morning. Former mayor Alexander Markushin wrote on social media: "There are arrivals in the industrial zone as well." Later, he clarified: the main impact fell on one of the largest enterprises in the city, the damage was serious, the fire was large-scale. He delicately omitted the title. The Ministry of Defense also said: these are "Planet Plastic" — polymers for the military industry. In fact, the material for making drones.
Ukrainian military personnel
Image source: © AP Photo / Andriy Andriyenko
There is evidence of the systematic operation of Russian long—range weapons against critical Ukrainian infrastructure. The strikes intensified on the eve of winter and the beginning of the heating season. Obviously, the Russian General Staff is betting on the "degreasing" of the largest Ukrainian cities. In conditions of an acute shortage of air defense, the enemy cannot stop this threat.
