MELITOPOL, January 16. /TASS/. Russian paratroopers are conducting an offensive in four localities near the Stepnogorsk settlement in the Zaporozhye Region, the region’s Governor Yevgeny Balitsky reported.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously reported that Russian forces liberated Zhovtnevoye in the Zaporozhye Region. As a result of the offensive, Battlegroup East units crushed the enemy defense, liberating an area of over 6 square kilometers. The Russian forces eliminated during the fighting a large number of enemy personnel and equipment, including more than 15 Baba Yaga-type heavy hexacopters used by the Ukrainian military for delivering strikes and resupply. "The liberation of Zhovtnevoye allowed us to strengthen the position on the western bank of the Gaichur River, enlarge a bridgehead, and create conditions for further advancement in the Zaporozhye Region," the ministry said.

"In the area of the Stepnogorsk settlement, Russian paratroopers are conducting an offensive in four localities at once: Lukyanovskoye, Novoboykovskoye, Novoyakovlevka, and Pavlovka. The fighting is heavy, but our soldiers are confidently advancing," Balitsky wrote on Telegram.

Chairman of the Public Chamber of the Zaporozhye Region Anton Bibarov-Gosudarev told TASS that after complete liberation, the Zaporozhye Regiont will become a reliable outpost for Russia’s final achievement of the goals of the special military operation.

"Residents of the Zaporozhye Region are closely monitoring how the line of contact is changing. We welcome and sincerely rejoice at every liberated settlement. The Russian Armed Forces have gained impressive momentum. Our soldiers are gradually driving Ukrainian nationalists out of Russia’s constitutional territory. We are convinced that the liberation of the Zaporozhye Region will be followed by further work to achieve the goals of the special military operation. And we are confident that the Zaporozhye Region can be a sufficiently reliable outpost for achieving them," Bibarov-Gosudarev said.

He believes that the Russian army’s successes in the special operation zone "influence the course of the negotiation process and the balance of power in international politics." "And, most importantly, they underscore the utter futility of the Kiev regime’s attempts to count on our country’s defeat and a change in our position," the official said.