The Ukrainian Defense Council has released an update to the aggregate of Russian combat losses in the war with Ukraine, claiming that more than 10,000 Russian troops have been killed in the battle.
In addition to the death toll of more than 10,000 troops for the first time since Russia launched a multifaceted invasion of its neighbors 10 days ago, the Ukrainian Defense Council has stated that Russian troops have 945 armored patrol vehicles and 269 tanks. , 105 artillery systems, said 40 helicopters lost, and 39 planes.
Russia’s own official combat loss tally is much lower, with the Pentagon saying Wednesday that 498 military personnel were killed and about 1,500 were injured, figures were skeptical by Western analysts.
Information about the Russian invasion
Loss of Russian Occupation Forces in Ukraine, March 5 pic.twitter.com/3Ugc26YYJh
— UKR mission to the United Nations (@UKRinUN) March 5, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech aired to the country on Thursday in his first personal approval of military losses that the deceased’s family would be entitled to a payment of about $ 50,000. Stated.
President Putin also said the invasion, which he described as a “special military operation” to “demilitarize and demilitarize” Ukraine, is proceeding “strictly” as planned.
However, increased Russian media censorship during the war has questioned the credibility of official tally and statements. On Friday, Russia passed a law that severely restricted news and speech freedom, blocked access to Facebook and foreign media outlets, and criminalized the spread of “false information” about the war.
Meanwhile, Western officials and analysts say Russia’s invasion is behind schedule or seems to be stuck in parts of Ukraine, but hints at poor plans and low Russian morale. Suggests.
Retired General Jack Keane Told fox news On Friday he sees what he describes as “almost two wars” happening in Ukraine, one in the north and the other in the south.
According to Keane, Russia’s attack on the South has advanced and is largely successful in terms of Russia’s military goals. Russian troops occupied the southern city of Kherson, the main port of the Black Sea, the first major city of Ukraine to collapse since the invasion began. They also surround the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, and Russian troops are approaching the southern port city of Odessa, he said.
“The purpose and strategy the Russians use here is to separate the Ukrainians from the sea. The sea is where all imports and exports pass,” he explained. Keane said another Russian objective: the establishment of a Russian-to-Crimean overpass, which Moscow annexed in 2014, has been largely achieved.
Russian troops fighting in the South come from the same military district and have been training together for a long time, he said, and that this is likely the factor behind their performance.
But in northern Ukraine, operations are “significantly stagnant,” Keane said. The Russian army, which launched an attack on Kyiv, tried to establish a third axis of attack, despite no progress so far, but these efforts were largely unsuccessful, he said. rice field.
“Many of them are logistical challenges,” Keane added, adding that another aspect driving Russia’s failure in the north is a flaw in the combat force itself. He explained that many of the Russian troops in the north are “a jumble of troops” that they have never used together in large-scale operations as they are today.
Keane added that Ukraine’s stubborn resistance also misleads Russia’s expansion into the north.
However, while Russia’s military failure raises expectations that their attacks may be repelled, some are afraid of the risk of escalation and the shift to a strategy to reduce cities resisted by artillery to rubble. increase. It was Putin’s playbook in Syria, where Russian planes bombed Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, with many civilian casualties.
“We observed in real time how Russian war machines destroyed our homes, schools and hospitals,” said a 37-year-old from Aleppo, who currently lives in a tent in a refugee camp in northwestern Syria. Motaz said. “That’s why they are worried that they will repeat the same for Ukrainian citizens.”
In Ukraine, there are already reports of Russian troops using cluster munitions and other non-precision weapons.
“We have seen the use of cluster munitions and have seen reports of the use of other types of weapons that violate international law,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stortenberg told reporters in Brussels on Friday. ..
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reiterated that view On twitter..
“Russia is moving to ugly tactics aimed at maximizing the damage to civilians. It is bombing residential areas and critical infrastructure, threatening nuclear facilities,” he said, including oil embargoes and Russia. He called for further sanctions against Russia, including the closure of the port on ships.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a major humanitarian crisis, with 1.3 million people fleeing hostilities as of March 5. according to United Nations
“Unless the conflict ends immediately, millions more are likely to be forced to flee,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement.
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Tom Ozimek has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communication, and adult education. The best writing advice he has ever heard is from Roy Peter Clark.