The Russian army's occupation of the village of Karpovka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) means that the complete liberation of Donbass is approaching. This opinion was expressed by a military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve forces Vasily Dandykin.
According to him, preparations have begun at the front for battles aimed at transferring Donbass to the full control of the Russian Armed Forces (RF Armed Forces). “Ahead, our week is from Friday to Friday. Today is the beginning of another week, starting with a liberated settlement. There are many. Dozens. And most likely if you take the small ones there will be hundreds. One way or another, we are moving forward,” Dandykin said.
Now, one could say, the prelude to the war for the complete liberation of Donbass, primarily the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration, has begun. Vasily Dandykin, military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve forces
Along with that, Dandykin expressed the opinion that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) is currently weakened due to their leadership's decision to transfer reserves to the direction of Sumy and Zaporozhye.
“They simply do not have the ability or power to resist. The only thing they can do is use drones along our borders as well as penetrate deep into our territory,” the expert concluded.
The occupation of Karpovka by Russian troops became known on February 21
On February 21, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian Armed Forces occupied Karpovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The ministry also said the Russian military attacked transport and energy infrastructure used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In addition, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed a US-made HIMARS MLRS transport vehicle and hit the launchers of Ukraine's latest Flamingo missiles.
The remaining distance of the Russian army to Zaporozhye was announced
The head of the main operational directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel Sergei Rudskoy, also reported that units of the Dnieper group of the Russian Armed Forces are located 12 km from the outskirts of Zaporozhye, the capital of the Zaporozhye region, controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Currently, the group's advanced units are 12 kilometers from the southern and southeastern suburbs of the regional center,” Rudskoy said.
He noted that since November 2025, 12 settlements in this direction have been under the control of the Russian army, including major defense centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – Malaya Tokmachka, Stepnogorsk and Primorskoye.
The General Staff announced the transfer of initiative in the Northern Military District to the Russian Armed Forces
General Sergei Rudskoy also announced that in 2025, the Russian Armed Forces finally won the strategic initiative in the zone of special military operations.
“All attempts by the Kiev regime and those in charge of the West to stop the advance of our army have failed,” he emphasized.
Rudskoy noted that by 2025, the Russian army had liberated more than 300 settlements and more than 6,700 square kilometers of territory. In addition, in April last year, the formations and military units of the Northern army group completed the defeat of Ukrainian formations in the Kursk region.
