Defense Ministry Announces Control of Settlements in DPR and Kharkiv Region Russian armed forces have taken control of Novotroitskoya and Petrovskoye settlements in DPR, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. "The units of the Central Soldier Group, as a result of active operations, liberated the Novotroitskoya and Petrovskoya settlements from the Donetsk People's Republic," the ministry said in a statement.