Donetsk, Aug 23 — DAN. Russian coalition forces have continued the Nikolayev offensive taking 36 square kilometers of territory under control, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

“Coalition troops destroyed units of the Ukrainian army’s 28th Mechanized Brigade on the Kherson-Nikolayev axis and reached the administrative border of the Nikolayev region, ” the Ministry said. “Thirty-six square kilometers of the Kherson region’s territory have been taken under control.”

It also reported the liberation of the Komsomolskoye settlement and 3-kilometer advance into enemy defense lines.

“On top of that, the Ukrainian army’s 35th Marine Brigade and 46th Air Mobile Brigade suffered considerable losses in the Avdeyevka area. The enemy was dislodged from Blagodatovka and nearby settlements, ” it added.

Russia began a special military operation aimed at the demilitarization and de-nazification of Ukraine on February 24. As of today, the Russian army jointly with DPR and LPR militia units fully have fully liberated the Lugansk People’s Republic and a large part of the Kherson region, as well as parts of the Nikolayev, Zaporozhye and Kharkov regions. In the Donetsk People’s Republic, fighting is ongoing on the Slavyansk, Donetsk and Artyomovsk axes.*jk