The United States said on Monday that the number of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine since December was about 20,000, half of whom were mercenaries hired by the Wagner paramilitary group, and that the number of wounded was more than 80,000.
“As of December, we estimate that Russia has killed or wounded more than 100,000 combatants, including 20,000 killed in action,” said White House spokesman John Kirby.
In a telephone press conference quoted by international news agencies, White House spokesman John Kirby presented data to support the claim that Russia has suffered more casualties since its forces intensified the offensive to take the city of Bakhmut in December.
The US has said for months that the Wagner group recruits Russian prisoners, some of them with serious illnesses and other health problems that make them more vulnerable on the battlefield.
In addition to the 20,000 dead, there will be about 80,000 wounded Russian troops since late last year, the White House spokesman added.
The revelation of this data comes the day after Wagner group leader Yevgueni Prigozhin said only 94 soldiers lost their lives.
Asked about the losses on the Ukrainian side, Kirby declined to disclose the number, saying the US never releases these numbers so as not to damage the morale of Ukrainian troops and civilians.
Also on that day, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov assured that “everything is ready” for the announced Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian troops and that it depends only on the General Staff to launch it.
“I believe that from today we can go into the last stretch and say: yes, everything is ready,” Reznikov assured in statements on state television.
“The General Staff, the Commander-in-Chief and his team will decide how and when, depending on the decision and assessment of the situation on the battlefield,” he added.
Reznikov was convinced of the success of this operation and once again expressed his confidence in the military high commands organizing the counter-offensive.
“A lot has been done to make them successful,” he said.
“After all, if there was no confidence in our generals, in our general staff, from the central committee to the commanders of the relevant branches of the armed forces, there would be no point,” he said.
The minister pointed out that this belief in victory is not only in this operation, but also the future of the war is something that is shared by Ukraine’s international partners, because they know that victory in Kiev is “in the interest of the security of their countries and their peoples”.
“For me it’s more than a feeling, it’s a well-formed belief. (…) I’m an informed realist,” he said. “The most important thing is that everyone understands that democracy is the type of government that should prevail. It’s not perfect, but no one has come up with anything better,” he stressed.
The Russian military offensive launched in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 was justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security.
Source: DN
