DONBASS FRONT LINES EVOLUTION IN 2022

The main task of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine is to liberate the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics from Ukrainian forces. In February 2022, the DPR occupied the territory of thousand out of 26.5 square kilometers of the former Donetsk region. The LPR was located on the territory of thousand square kilometers out of 26.6 thousand square kilometers. In 2022, the Russian military achieved significant success in the LPR. 4 months after Russian troops crossed the border, on July 3, LPR authorities claimed that the republic’s troops, with the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, completed the liberation of the republic within its “historical” borders. One of the main battles in the Donbas was the battle for the town of Popasnaya, which is of strategic importance. After two months of fighting, the city came under Russian control in May. The heaviest battles took place in the Severodonetsk-Lisichansk agglomeration, which ended on June 25 with the victory of Russian forces. In autumn, Russian forces left their positions in the Kharkiv region. After the Russian retreat from Izium and Krasny Liman, several villages on the border of the LPR were captured by Ukrainian forces. By the end of 2022, almost the entire territory of the Republic remains under Russian control. The front lines lie to the west of the Svatovo-Kremennaya road. In the DPR, Russian forces took control of more than half of the territory of the republic. The most significant Russian successes took place in the south. From February to May, there was a battle for Mariupol, which ended with the surrender of Ukrainian garrison from Azovstal plant. In the following months, a number of cities, including Volnovakha and Dokuchaevsk, came under Russian control. At the end of the year, the front line runs along the road between Ugledar and Velikaya Novoselka. In the Donetsk region, the advance of Russian forces was slowed down by the need to break through the heavily fortified strongholds of Ukrainian forces, which were strengthened during the years of war in the Donbass. In autumn, Russian forces knocked out Ukrainian units from the Donetsk airport area and advanced westward, taking control of the village of Peski. Maryinka and Avdiivka remain the main Ukrainian strongholds which Russians are slowly encircling. By the end of the year, the Russians managed to dislodge the Ukrainians to the western outskirts of Maryinka. Russian forces approached Avdeevka from the south, taking control of Opytne and from the northeast, taking control of Kamenka and Novoselovka. In August, Russian units approached the city of Bakhmut. During the months of fighting, it was surrounded from the eastern, southern and northern directions, but reinforcements still reach the Ukrainian garrison in the city. On August 3, the Ukrainian army announced that Russian troops had launched an offensive on Soledar. By the end of the year, fighting continues on the southern and eastern outskirts. In 2022, the Russian troops have not yet completed the task of the military operations in the Donbass. The hostilities continue.