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43,000 Ukrainian troops killed since counteroffensive began, Russia claims

Friday, 04 August 2023 4:16 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 August 2023 4:38 PM ]

Ukrainian soldiers carry a wounded person into a hospital in Bakhmut in November 2022. (Photo: AP)

The Ukrainian Army has suffered over 43,000 troops since it launched its push against Russian positions two months ago, according to estimates released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday.

Ukraine began its much-anticipated counteroffensive in early June, but it hasn’t made much progress ever since.

"Since the start of the so-called 'offensive,' the Ukrainian armed forces lost over 43,000 soldiers in June-July,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. It noted the number does not include the injured, foreign mercenaries as well as the soldiers that were neutralized in long-range high-precision strikes.

The statement added that Kiev has also lost 76 US-made M777 artillery systems and 84 Western self-propelled artillery systems over the two months of its counteroffensive operation.

As many as 4,900 units of different military equipment have been destroyed on the line of contact since the start of Ukraine's counteroffensive, including 1,800 tanks and armored combat vehicles, including 25 Leopards, the ministry also stated.

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The West has flooded Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of military equipment since Russia launched what it branded a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine.

Russia began its operation on February 24, 2022. It has repeatedly warned the West about supplying Kiev with weapons, saying the move would only prolong the war.

Moscow has accused the US and its allies are using Ukraine as a pawn in their plan to protect their dwindling global hegemony. Moscow says Washington wants Ukraine to fight Russia “to the last Ukrainian”.

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