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DPR militia takes control of over 160 residential localities in Donbass

The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17

DONETSK, April 20. /TASS/. The people’s militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), supported by the Russian army, liberated 167 residential localities in Donbass establishing full control over them since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the DPR territorial defense headquarters reported in a statement on Wednesday.

"As of April 20, 2022, the DPR militia, backed by the Russian army, have liberated and established full control over 167 residential areas on the territory of Donbass, including in the Velikonovosyolkovsky Region, which includes Rovnopol, Novosyolka, Makarovka and Storozhevoye," the DPR territorial defense headquarters reported in a statement on its Telegram channel.

"A mop-up operation in Mariupol is nearing its conclusion," the statement added.

The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.

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