Russian forces have continued their offensive outside the Sergeyevka village in the Svatovo district, advancing by up to 2.7 kilometers into the depth of Ukrainian army battle lines on the Krasny Liman axis, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

The Sergeyevka village was liberated from Kiev forces on Tuesday.

“On the Krasny Liman axis, 15th Motorized Rifle Brigade units continued offensive operations in the Sergeyevka settlement area in the Lugansk People’s Republic, advancing by up to three kilometers laterally and by 2,700 meters deep into enemy defense lines,” the report said.

Aircraft, artillery and heavy flamethrower system strikes repelled four Ukrainian army attacks in the areas of Chervonaya Dibrova and Raigorodok in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Serebryanka Forestry. Strikes were delivered at enemy manpower and equipment in the areas of Novovodyanoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Torskoye, Yampolovka and Grigorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Defense Ministry said.

“A Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group was thwarted in the area of Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic. An ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 66th Mechanized Brigade was destroyed in the area of Novolyubovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic. Enemy losses over the past 24 hours amounted to more than 190 servicemen, five armored fighting vehicles, four pickups, two towed howitzers D-20 and D-30, three “Gvozdika” self-propelled howitzers and one US-made AN/TPQ-50 counterfire radar.

“Air defense units intercepted seven high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) missiles and two Storm Shadow cruise missiles over the past 24 hours. Thirteen Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed in the areas of Karmazinovka, Zolotaryovka and Rubezhnoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Verkhnekamenskoye, Yevgenovka, Yampolovka and Krasnaya Polyana in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chumatskoye and Dibrova in the Zaporohye region, the Ministry said.

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The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014.  The peace talks failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation on February 24, 2022 to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.*i*sb