Map of the special operation in Ukraine on April 21

A special military operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass has been conducted by Russia since February 24, 2022. You can track the progress of the joint forces of Russia, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as the map of military operations for April 21 in the Izvestia material.

Russian military personnel continue to conduct a special military operation. Units of the North group of forces established control over the village of Veterinary, Kharkiv region. Units of two mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the air defense brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Zemlyanki, Ternovaya and Izbitskoye in the Kharkiv region. In the Sumy region, the manpower and equipment of two mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the air defense brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Novaya Sich, Pavlovka, Khoten, Khrapovshchina, Kondratovka and Miropole of the Sumy region. The enemy lost more than 190 soldiers, an armored personnel carrier, 13 vehicles, a field artillery piece, an electronic warfare station, an ammunition depot and 14 material depots.

"The units of the Zapad group of forces have improved their position along the front line. Formations of three mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and two air defense brigades were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Kutkovka, Velikaya Shapkovka, Borovaya, Shiikovka, Novosergeyevka of the Kharkiv region, Krasny Liman and Svyatogorsk of the Donetsk People's Republic. The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to up to 195 military personnel, two armored combat vehicles, 18 vehicles and two artillery pieces," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The units of the "Southern" group of forces have taken more advantageous positions and lines. Formations of three mechanized, mountain assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the air defense brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Alekseevo-Druzhkovka, Rai-Alexandrovka, Krivaya Luka, Nikolaevka and Konstantinovka of the Donetsk People's Republic. The enemy lost over 195 military personnel, two armored combat vehicles, 16 vehicles, two field artillery guns and an electronic warfare station.

Units of the Center group of forces have actively liberated the Grishino settlement of the Donetsk People's Republic. The manpower and equipment of two mechanized, airmobile, and jaeger brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a marine brigade, and two National Guard brigades were defeated in the areas of Novopavlovka, Veseloe, Dnipropetrovsk region, Kalinino, Kucherov Yar, Belitskoye, Krasnoyarsk, Dobropolye, and Torskoye settlements of the Donetsk People's Republic. The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to over 340 military personnel, an armored combat vehicle, a pickup truck and a field artillery piece.

The units of the Vostok group of forces continued to advance into the depth of the enemy's defenses. Formations of a mechanized brigade, two assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a marine brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Dobropasovo, Dnipropetrovsk region, Alexandrograd, Donetsk People's Republic, Verkhnyaya Tersa and Vozdvizhevka, Zaporizhia region. The enemy lost up to 75 military personnel, an armored combat vehicle, three vehicles and a US-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery warfare station.

The Russian army, with the help of aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles and artillery, defeated production workshops, storage and preparation sites for the launch of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as temporary locations of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 149 districts. Air defense systems shot down 13 guided aerial bombs, three US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and 434 aircraft-type drones.

Steel argument: how tankers break down the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Konstantinovka

Crews conduct targeted fire from closed positions at a distance and upgrade equipment in the field.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 671 aircraft, 284 helicopters, 136,352 unmanned aerial vehicles, 656 anti-aircraft missile systems, 28,992 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,704 multiple rocket launchers, 34,555 field artillery and mortars, 59,876 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed.

Watch more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass on the Izvestia TV channel