According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian personnel losses after more than six hundred days of war amounted to more than 300,000. soldiers.
Ukrainian staffers say in the latest communiqué that Russia has lost 300,810 soldiers in Ukraine since the start of the large-scale invasion, which began on February 24, 2022. This number includes 870 casualties on the Russian side in the last 24 hours.
According to the report, Russia has lost 5,211 tanks, 9,804 armored fighting vehicles, 7,227 artillery systems, 844 multiple rocket systems, 562 air defense systems, 321 aircraft, 324 helicopters, 5,440 drones and 20 boats since the start of the war.
In August, the New York Times reported that Ukraine and Russia’s losses since February 2022 totaled half a million soldiers, including 120,000. killed and 180 thousand injured on the Russian side and 70,000 killed and 120 thousand injured on the Ukrainian side.
How many soldiers did Russia really lose and how many did Ukraine lose?
Data on personnel losses from both armies cannot be verified because both Moscow and Kiev keep them secret. At the same time, they like to inform about the enemy’s losses.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced at the beginning of September that the Ukrainian army has lost 66,000 men since the start of the counter-offensive (it started in June – ed.). soldiers and 7,600 weapons and equipment. He argued that Ukrainian units, “trying to hide the failure of the offensive, are attacking civilian targets and presenting these attacks as military victories.”
The aim of Ukraine’s armed forces is to push back the so-called land bridge through which Russia supplies its troops from Crimea in southern and eastern Ukraine. To do this, Ukrainian units must break through Russian defenses and reach the Sea of Azov.
Much depends on the outcome of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, as a failed and bloody attempt to take the territory from the hands of the Russian occupiers could weaken optimism among Kiev’s key Western allies and create pressure to deal on its terms Moscow to negotiate.
Zelensky feels betrayed
According to information leaked to the press from the Ukrainian president’s entourage, Volodymyr Zelensky believes that his Western allies have betrayed him because Ukraine is not receiving the weapons necessary for victory.
People from Zelensky’s team, interviewed by the US magazine Time, said the president firmly believes in Ukraine’s complete victory. “He’s fooling himself,” said one of them. – We have no options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that, he added.
The president himself confirmed in a conversation with journalists that he was not considering the possibility of negotiations with Moscow. He fears that if Ukraine does not fully contain Russia, the situation will worsen. – World War III could start in Ukraine, continue in Israel and then spread to Asia. And then explode somewhere else, Zelensky said.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
