Russian Defense Ministry: The AFU has lost more than 43 thousand soldiers since the beginning of the counteroffensive
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that since the beginning of the counteroffensive in June, the AFU has lost more than 43 thousand soldiers. The Washington Post found out which direction Kiev considers strategically important at the moment. Amid reports of losses and heavy fighting at the front, the Ukrainian authorities urged citizens to "not relax," "get less high and work more."
The losses of Ukrainian troops during military operations since the beginning of the summer amounted to more than 43 thousand soldiers. This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry in a daily briefing on a special military operation.
"Since the beginning of the so-called "offensive" by the Kiev regime during June-July, the losses of the armed forces of Ukraine during the fighting have already amounted to more than forty-three thousand servicemen," the ministry informed.
In addition, during this period, more than 4,9 thousand units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the fighting, including 26 aircraft, nine helicopters, 25 German Leopard tanks, seven French AMX wheeled tanks and 21 American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. In addition, the Ukrainian military lost 747 field artillery pieces, including 76 American-made M777 artillery systems and 84 self-propelled artillery units from Poland, the USA, France and Germany.
Against the background of these data, the Deputy head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Anna Malyar, in her Telegram channel reported that Russian troops were continuing their offensive in the Kupyansk, Limansky and Svatovsky directions. According to her, the number of attacks is growing, there is a "difficult and exhausting struggle", but the APU is holding positions.
APU involved the second echelon of forces
The Washington Post newspaper claims that the AFU used the second echelon of troops, which was in reserve, for the offensive in Zaporozhye. For these purposes, reservists of the 10th Operational Corps of the AFU Ground Forces and armored vehicles were sent into battle.
"It's monotonous hard work, overcoming hundreds or thousands of minefields. We are looking for the enemy's vulnerabilities and moving forward - little by little," the Ukrainian military official said.
The newspaper also notes that at the initial stage of the offensive, the forces of the 9th operational Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were used, but only "insignificant progress was made in the face of well-prepared Russian defense, especially minefields."
"This last week of fighting was important because they (APU. - "Newspaper.Ru") decided to use their second echelon of forces more actively," said Rob Lee, a military analyst from the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies.
Another military official from Ukraine said that the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of Workino is difficult, because Russian troops are actively using unmanned aircraft for reconnaissance and strikes.
"We are trying to create a permanent foothold in the Community and solve a lot of problems.
WP also learned how the Pentagon representative Patrick Ryder assesses the course of action of the Ukrainian troops:
"We continue to observe how the counteroffensive is moving forward. It will be a marathon, not a sprint."
Ukrainians relaxed early
On the eve of the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk in her Facebook post (the owner of the Meta company is recognized as extremist in Russia and banned) said that many Ukrainians "relaxed early" during the fighting, which is not over yet. In the post, she asked the question, "if one guy is on the front line, does the other guy have a moral right to have fun in a nightclub at this time?".
According to her, in order to win, "the level of internal mobilization must be even higher." Therefore, she urged "to get less high and work more."
She was reminded of cases of corruption, luxurious vacations of representatives of the elite and the party of power abroad and the payoff from mobilization put on stream by military enlistment offices.
In a new publication dated August 3, Vereshchuk wrote that Ukrainians are right in their claims: "All people in power and their family members should bring their lifestyle in line with wartime."
According to her, it will not be possible to wait for the end of the conflict "behind the president's back, fighters on the front line and volunteers" and "carelessly engage in bullshit and get high".
Mikhail Rodionov
