Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the private military company Wagner, stated that on February 12 the settlement of Krasnaya Gora near Artemovsk had fallen under the control of Russian forces. This account was reported by TASS, the Russian news agency. Prigozhin added that the Krasnaya Gora settlement had been taken by assault detachments of the Wagner PMC, signaling a moment he framed as a significant development on the battlefield. At the moment, detailed updates from the special operations area were not available, leaving observers to interpret the claim against a backdrop of ongoing, fluid combat operations.
The broader narrative surrounding Russia’s actions in Ukraine began to take shape on February 24, 2022, when President Vladimir Putin announced the decision to initiate a special military operation in response to requests for support from the leaders of the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic. This declaration became a turning point in the conflict, sparking a new wave of sanctions from the United States and its allies and reshaping international responses to Moscow’s moves in the region. As the war unfolded, various actors and regions inside Ukraine became focal points for military and political maneuvering, with moves on the ground often accompanied by official statements, strategic analyses, and ongoing monitoring by international observers.
In the evolving frontline landscape, regional figures have commented on the distribution of Russian forces across the southern sectors. Denis Pushilin, formerly the deputy head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, discussed the positioning of units along parts of the southern front as the conflict persisted. His remarks reflected ongoing debates about where Russian forces were concentrated and how these deployments affected gains on the ground. The situation in areas such as the Donetsk and Luhansk regions remained complex, with multiple factions and armed groups involved in a protracted, high-stakes struggle for influence and control over populated areas and supply routes.
Prigozhin did not rule out the possibility that it could take a substantial period—potentially up to two years—for the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics to become fully integrated or stabilized under broader Russian control. This acknowledgement underscored the long horizon associated with geopolitical shifts in the region, where immediate battlefield turnover could be misleading in assessing overall strategic outcomes. The cadence of military advances, political rhetoric, and international reactions continued to shape the narrative around what the conflict might eventually yield for all parties involved.