Map of the special operation in Ukraine on July 16

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 a map of military operations on July 16 in the Izvestia material.

The fighters of the North group of forces improved their tactical position and defeated the formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The enemy lost up to 195 men, three armored combat vehicles, 13 vehicles, five field artillery guns, an electronic warfare (EW) station and an electronic reconnaissance station.

The Zapad group of forces has taken more advantageous positions and frontiers. Ukrainian formations in the Kharkiv region and the DPR were defeated. The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 215 soldiers, two armored combat vehicles, 20 vehicles and four artillery pieces.

The military personnel of the southern group of forces improved their tactical position and hit the enemy in the areas of the DPR settlements. The enemy lost more than 165 militants, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, an armored combat vehicle, 25 vehicles, two field artillery guns and two electronic warfare stations.

Units of the Center group of forces improved their position along the front line, and also hit Ukrainian formations in the DPR and the Dnipropetrovsk region. The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to 330 people, three armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, an artillery piece and three electronic warfare stations.

The Vostok group of troops continued to move into the depth of the enemy's defenses. Ukrainian Armed Forces units were also defeated in a number of settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions. The enemy lost over 490 soldiers, an armored combat vehicle, seven vehicles, a field artillery piece and an electronic warfare station.

The fighters of the Dnepr group of forces defeated the formations of the Armed Forces brigades in the areas of the settlements of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. Up to 55 Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters, seven vehicles and an electronic warfare station were destroyed.

Stable cover: mobile firing groups are being created in motorized rifle units

The new units will cover the rear in the special operation zone.

Russian troops used tactical air strikes, combat drones, rocket and artillery systems to hit fuel, energy and transport infrastructure facilities used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, storage sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as temporary locations of Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries in 147 districts.

Eight guided aerial bombs, five US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and 802 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems.

According to the Ministry of Defense, since the beginning of the special military operation, 673 aircraft, 284 helicopters, 182526 unmanned aerial vehicles, 666 anti-aircraft missile systems, 30174 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1758 multiple rocket launchers, 35783 field artillery and mortars, 66603 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed.

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