Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian General Staff paid a visit to the headquarters of the Yuzhnaya (Southern) Group of Forces which is conducting operations in the Donetsk People’s Republic just east of the Donbass arc “fortress” cities Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. He was briefed by the Group’s Commander, Gen.-Col. Sergei Medvedev, on the current situation in the area of responsibility, as well as by commanders of formations on the results of combat missions.
“In the absence of real results on the ground, the Ukrainian leadership is trying to convince Western sponsors of the successful actions of the AFU on the battlefield. Therefore, as part of the propaganda campaign, it is disseminating false information about an allegedly successful offensive in Zaporozhye Region,” Gerasimov said. “At the moment, however, the main strategic objective of the Kiev regime is to control the remaining part of the Donbass. To this end, in the Severodonetsk direction, the enemy has built and constantly perfects defense in depth based on high-rise buildings and industrial zones of the large settlements like Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and Druzhkovka. They are connected by a developed transport infrastructure and a system of fortifications.
“Under these conditions, the Yuzhnaya Group of Forces advancing on a wide front of about 160 km in several directions, overcame the first defensive line of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk fortified district.” He added that “over 100 square kilometres have been liberated over the past two months in Druzhkovka direction.”
The city of Severodonetsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic is 90 km east of Slavyansk. It was captured by Russia in June 2022. The Russians took Seversk, half-way between Severodonetsk and Slavyansk, in December 2025 and have been advancing westward from there. At the same time, Russian forces are moving up the Donbass arc from the southeast (Konstantinovka, Druzhkovka) and approaching the area from the southwest, from “behind,” as well.
