According to an official Ukrainian statement, Russian armed forces suffered heavy losses in Ukraine’s various combat zones last week.
“6,260 occupants and 672 units of weapons and military technology were destroyed,” the Unian agency said, citing the deputy defense minister. Alexander Pavlyuk on Sunday. Weapon systems destroyed included 78 tanks, 113 armored personnel carriers and 130 artillery systems.
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The information could not be independently verified. In the daily updated list of Russian losses in Ukraine since the start of the war, the Ukrainian General Staff on Sunday listed 324,830 soldiers who were killed or wounded.
The number of Russian Armed Forces tanks destroyed so far was 5,513. The Ukrainian military also claims to have shot down 5,900 drones in response to Russian airstrikes. This information also cannot be verified.
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Neither Kiev nor Moscow publish the actual losses of their armed forces. Last summer, American experts estimated Russian losses at around 120,000 dead and 180,000 injured; On the Ukrainian side, 70,000 soldiers were killed and around 120,000 injured.
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Beginning of winter in Ukraine
Large parts of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast have been affected and paralyzed by the sudden onset of winter. Snowstorms have paralyzed road traffic around the port city of Odessa, Ukrainian media reported. Several rural roads were closed to traffic.
In Odessa, school classes were moved to video conferences on Monday. Snow and hail also caused problems in the interior of Ukraine. Authorities appealed to citizens to avoid unnecessary car trips.
Schools and authorities in many places on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia occupied in violation of international law, were also declared closed on Monday. Initially, Monday was declared a day off in the port city of Sevastopol, and soon after this decision was extended to the entire Crimea.
In Evpatoria, the snowstorm caused a huge power outage that plunged almost 40,000 people into unheated darkness, as reported by the Russian agency Tass. Several nursing homes were evacuated.
Zelenskiy highlights the plight of soldiers
Taking into account the beginning of winter in Ukraine, the President Volodimir Zelensky The population was informed of the particularly difficult situation of the soldiers at the front.
“Now, when things are so difficult, when conditions are so difficult, we should all be especially grateful to those who maintain the defense of our country,” Zelensky said in his video address Sunday night.
Zelenskiy particularly mentioned soldiers “in positions, posts and mobile fire squads.” All are deployed in winter conditions to “protect Ukraine, the life of our state and our independence”.
A severe snowstorm hit the entire Ukrainian Black Sea coast on Sunday and caused significant problems in many places.
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In the winter of the previous year, the Russian military tried to pressure the Ukrainian population with air strikes against the country’s energy infrastructure. Official Kiev expects a similar scenario this winter.
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