The United States said on Sunday that the number of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine since December was close to 20,000, half of whom were mercenaries hired by the Wagner paramilitary group, and more than 80,000 wounded.
“Since December, we estimate that Russia has had more than 100,000 combatants killed or wounded, including 20,000 killed in action,” White House spokesman John Kirby said, adding that “the bottom line is that the Russian offensive has failed.”
In a telephone press conference quoted by international news agencies, the White House spokesman, John Kirby, presented data to support the thesis that Russia has suffered an increase in losses since its troops intensified, in December, the offensive to take the city of Bakhmut.
The United States has said for months that the Wagner group is recruiting Russian prisoners, including some with serious illnesses and other health problems that make them more fragile on the battlefield.
In addition to the 20,000 deaths, there will be some 80,000 wounded Russian soldiers since the end of last year, the White House spokesman added.
The disclosure of these data comes a day after the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that only 94 soldiers lost their lives.
When asked about the losses on the Ukrainian side, Kirby refused to disclose the number, saying that the United States never publishes these numbers so as not to damage the morale of Ukrainian troops and citizens.
Also today, the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksi Reznikov, assured that “everything is ready” for the announced Ukrainian counteroffensive against the Russian forces and that it only depends on the General Staff to launch it.
“I believe that, starting today, we can enter the final stretch and say: Yes, everything is ready,” Reznikov said in statements to state television.
“The General Staff, the Commander in Chief and his team will decide how and when, based on the decision and evaluation of the situation on the battlefield,” he added.
Reznikov was convinced of the success of this operation and reiterated his confidence in the high military commanders who are organizing the counteroffensive.
“A lot has been done to make them successful,” he said.
“After all, if there was no trust in our generals, in our General Staff, from the central committee to the commanders of the relevant branches of the Armed Forces, this would be meaningless,” he asserted.
The minister pointed out that this belief in victory is not only in this operation, but that the future of the war is something that Ukraine’s international partners share, since they know that the victory in Kiev “is in the interests of the security of their countries and their peoples”.
“For me it is more than a feeling, it is a well-formed conviction. (…) I am an informed realist,” he said. “The most important thing is that everyone understands that democracy is the type of government that must prevail. It is not perfect, but no one has come up with anything better, ”he emphasized.
The Russian military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 in Ukraine was justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security.
Source: TSF
