ISABEL VAN BRUGEN
Russian forces in Ukraine had lost a significant amount of military equipment in the space of 24 hours, Ukraine's military said in an update Monday, as Moscow ramps up reinforcements in preparation for possible Ukrainian counteroffensives.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Monday morning that over the previous day 11 tanks, 17 armored vehicles and three helicopters belonging to Russia's armed forces had been destroyed.
In its daily update, Ukraine also said that Russia had lost four artillery systems, three multiple-launch rocket systems and seven operational tactical UAVs. It also said 590 Russian military personnel had lost their lives, bringing the total number killed to 111,760 since the war began on February 24.
"During the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Air Force launched 17x air strikes on the concentrations of enemy troops, and 3x air strikes against Russian anti-aircraft missile systems," Ukraine's military reported.
Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by Ukrainian forces in the Luhansk region of Ukraine on February 26, 2022. Russian forces in Ukraine had lost a significant amount of military equipment in the space of 24 hours, Ukraine’s military said in an update Monday.ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES"Ukrainian missile and artillery troops attacked 7x concentrations of enemy troops and military equipment, and 1x fuel warehouse," the update read.
Russia rarely releases figures on losses of personnel and equipment. So far, the Kremlin has confirmed the deaths of fewer than 6,000 troops and fewer than 4,000 additional fighters drawn from Russia's so-called "people's republics" in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
In terms of equipment, both Russia and Ukraine have been losing significant amounts, but Russia has been hardest hit according to estimates by the website Oryx, which has been tracking losses of military hardware since the start of the conflict.
So far, Russia has lost roughly 8,590 pieces of equipment, compared to Ukrainian losses of some 2,699 pieces of equipment, estimates show.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment.
Ukraine's military also said Monday that according to its sources, significant quantities of the weapons and military equipment arriving in Belarus from Russia for training purposes have been "removed from long-term storage and require maintenance."
Belarusian servicemen "take active part in maintenance work," the Facebook post said.
Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defence assessed over the weekend that Russian forces have in recent weeks been preparing for the possibility of Ukrainian counteroffensives in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia or Luhansk Oblasts.
Russia is boosting its defenses particularly between the towns of Vasilyvka and Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia, it said.
"A major Ukrainian breakthrough in Zaporizhzhia would seriously challenge the viability of Russia's 'land bridge' linking Russia's Rostov region and Crimea," the ministry said.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, has said Kyiv is preparing for a major counteroffensive in the spring, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on December 28 that "Ukraine is on its way to the victory that generations of our people dreamed of."
"What was not achieved before will be achieved now," Zelensky said at the time. "This is possible thanks to the fact that for the first time in centuries, we have national unity, our own functioning state, and the general unity of the world."
No comments:
Post a Comment