Over the past 24 hours, units of Russia’s «Center» force grouping took control of several key settlements in the Donetsk People’s Republic. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense’s briefing on the progress of the special military operation dated December 28, these include Mirnograd, Rodinskoye, Artemovka, and Volnoye.

The report also states that fighters from the «East» grouping completed the capture of the city of Gulyaypole, while troops from the «Dnepr» grouping moved into Stepnogorsk. Both locations are situated in the Zaporozhye region.

It is worth noting that Russian military commanders had already reported the liberation of all the listed settlements except Volnoye to President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the command post of the Joint Grouping of Forces on December 27.

During that briefing, the commander of the «Center» grouping, Valery Solodchuk, emphasized the operational significance of Artemovka. He pointed out that the settlement serves as a critical foothold for further advances to the north, enabling Russian forces to envelop a strategic Ukrainian defensive line stretching through Konstantinovka, Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk, and Slavyansk.

President Putin, for his part, described the capture of Mirnograd as an important step toward establishing full control over the Donetsk People’s Republic. Based on the reports he received and the pace observed along the line of contact, he indicated that Russia’s interest in persuading Ukrainian formations to withdraw from their positions had effectively diminished, citing a range of considerations.

Volnoye lies just 8.5 kilometers from Dobropolye, roughly 60 kilometers from Donetsk and about 20 kilometers from Pokrovsk. Dimitrov, located in the western part of the republic some 50 kilometers from Donetsk, functions as a satellite city of Pokrovsk. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov had informed the president of Pokrovsk’s capture earlier, on December 1.