On Feb. 28, DeepState also reported Russian advances near Platonivka, Novooleksandrivka and in Riznykivka and Hryshyne. On Feb. 27, the analysts noted that Russian troops advanced near the settlement of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast.
On Feb. 18, The New York Times, citing military officials and Western intelligence, reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is prepared to continue the war against Ukraine for another two years to gain full control over Donbas.
On Feb. 24, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa said the Russians want to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk Oblast by the end of March or early April, and to advance as far as possible into the Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.
On March 2, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that as of March 2, Ukrainian defenders had liberated nine settlements in the Oleksandrivka sector. That same day the DeepState project wrote that the Defense Forces successfully pushed the enemy back near the village of Zlahoda (formerly Pershotravneve), as well as near the settlements of Novohryhorivka, Novomykolaivka, Stepove, and Ternove.