Ukrainian soldiers ride on the arm of an armored vehicle on October 4, 2022 as they travel between the recaptured cities of Izium and Lyman. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP)
About 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died fighting the Russian invasion for years.Politico reported, citing unnamed US officials.
This comes amid grueling fighting since February 24, 2022, with an ever-changing frontline in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv provinces.
This includes Russian rocket and artillery attacks on other parts of the country, such as the central provinces of Kiev, Chernihiv, Dnipro and Odessa, and even as far west as Lviv.
Russia, for its part, also suffered heavy losses in the war.
According to recent information from the Ukrainian army, Russia has lost so far:
- 163,320 soldiers
- 305 aircraft
- 290 helicopters
- 2,145 drones
- 265 air defense systems
- 2,552 artillery systems
- 504 multi-launch missile systems
- 18 ships
- 3,506 main battle tanks
- 6,823 armored fighting vehicles
- 5,401 fuel tankers and other vehicles
It should be noted that these death figures, from both Russian and Ukrainian sources, are difficult to verify.
War between Ukraine and Russia: the fierce fighting around Bakhmut
Currently, the fiercest battlefield of the ongoing war is around the city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk Oblast.
Russian troops, along with mercenaries from the Wagner Group, have been besieging the city for several months and have destroyed much of it, although the Ukrainian forces have managed to consistently hold some ground.
According to the BBC between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded in and around Bakhmut, and earlier this week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that 1,100 Russian soldiers had been killed in the area in recent days. NATO figures also put the ratio at five Russian soldiers killed for every Ukrainian, though these numbers are questionable and always changing.
In addition, it is not clear what the strategic value of the city may be for either side, although both Russia and Ukraine have emphasized the importance of the city.
According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Bakhmut’s importance is more symbolic than strategic.
Another major concern for the United States is Ukrainian supplies.
The Jerusalem Post
