The "West" force grouping destroyed nine AFU mortar units in 24 hours

Servicemen of the units of the Western grouping of Russian troops destroyed nine mortar units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and 13 control points of enemy drones over the course of 24 hours. This was reported on January 2 by Ivan Bigma, head of the press center of the Western grouping of troops.

"In the course of counter-battery combat artillery units destroyed ... nine mortar formations. <...> Thirteen UAV control points were destroyed," he told RIA Novosti.

Bigma added that the Russian army military eliminated more than 50 Ukrainian fighters and a T-72 tank while repelling nine counterattacks by AFU assault groups. As a result, he continued, the Ukrainian army was deprived of 25 weapons during the day. In addition, air defense calculations of the Russian Armed Forces destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type of the enemy.

"Our fighters have their own home behind them, literally."

How tankers of the 51st Donetsk Army destroy Ukrainian militants' strongholds in the Toretsk direction

On the eve, January 1, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the calculations of Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems of the Dnepr group of troops destroyed a Ukrainian UAV in the Kakhovka direction in the Kherson region. While on combat duty, a Buk-M2 SAM system detected and escorted an enemy aerial target. The artillerymen launched an anti-aircraft guided missile and hit the target, which was conducting aerial reconnaissance of the positions of the Russian Armed Forces troops.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the aggravated situation in the region.

More topical videos and details about the situation in Donbass, see on Izvestia TV channel.