Vladimir Putin’s forces suffered “extraordinary” losses in Ukraine, British defense chiefs said on Wednesday as they launched a new offensive in the eastern city of Severodonetsk. Both the Russian and Ukrainian regular armies have seen so many soldiers killed and wounded that “the ability to build and deploy reserve units on the front is likely to become increasingly critical to the outcome of the war,” they added. They also said that Moscow-backed separatists in part of the eastern Donbass region had admitted that more than 2,000 of their soldiers had been killed this year and that nearly 9,000 had been wounded. In its latest update, the Ministry of Defense in London said: “Heavy bombardment continues as Russia presses to encircle the Severodonetsk region via Izium in the north and Popasna in the south. “Russia is very likely to prepare to try to develop a large number of reserve units in Donbas.”
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It added: “The Russian authorities have not announced the total number of military casualties in Ukraine since March 25. “However, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) is publishing information about the victims of the GDR forces. As of June 16, the GDR had acknowledged that 2,128 soldiers had been killed in battle and 8,897 wounded since early 2022. “The LDR’s casualty rate is about 55 percent of its original strength, which underscores the tremendous damage suffered by Russian and pro-Russian forces in Donbas. “It is very possible that the GDR forces are equipped with outdated weapons and equipment. “On both sides, the ability to create and deploy backup units on the front is likely to become increasingly critical to the outcome of the war.” Britain, the United States and other allies are waging an information war against the Kremlin, so their updates need to be treated with caution. However, Moscow’s claims are often even less credible, in part as the Kremlin denies that Putin launched a war in Ukraine on February 24. The United Kingdom estimates that the invasion killed 15,000 to 20,000 Russian soldiers. It has not provided any information on Ukrainian military casualties. However, Kyiv has admitted that 200 to 500 of its soldiers are killed every day during heavy fighting. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of civilians have also been killed, often in indiscriminate Russian bombing. Russian forces have captured more villages near the industrial city of Sheverodonetsk in the eastern province of Luhansk, according to reports Wednesday. But Ukrainian troops were still holding on to underground tunnels at the Azot chemical plant, where 500 civilians, including dozens of children, are taking refuge. Fighting in the four-month war has favored Russia in recent weeks over its huge advantage in artillery, a fact acknowledged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a speech late Tuesday. “Thanks to regular maneuvers, the Ukrainian army is strengthening its defense in the Luhansk region,” he said. “It’s really the hardest part. The occupiers are also pushing hard in the direction of Donetsk. “ The provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk together are known as Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. “And while we are actively fighting for a positive decision of the European Union on Ukraine’s candidacy status, we are also fighting daily for modern armaments for our country. “We will not give up for a single day.” The governor of Luhansk province, Serhiy Gaidai, said Russian troops were also advancing on Lysychansk, attacking police, state security and prosecutors’ buildings, occupying settlements and attacking the city with aircraft. Some of the Russian attack was reported to be from the south of the city, which means that its soldiers should not cross the Siverskyi Donets River. Oleskiy Arestovych, an adviser to Mr Zelensky, said Russian forces could cut off Lysychansk, across the Siverskyi Donets River from Severodonetsk, from Ukrainian-controlled territory. “There is a threat of a regular Russian victory, but they have not done so yet,” he said in an online video. The attacks took place in the northeastern Kharkiv region, with at least 15 civilians killed by Russian bombardment, civilian leaders said on Tuesday. “Russian forces are now hitting the city of Kharkov in the same way they used to hit Mariupol – with the aim of terrorizing the population,” Arestovich said. “The idea is to create a big problem to distract us.” Ukrainian and Russian forces were stationed on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, a day of remembrance in both countries to mark the anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. June 22 is an important date in Russia – the “Day of Remembrance and Sorrow” – which marks the end of Hitler’s Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. His memory is also celebrated in Ukraine and neighboring Belarus, then part of the Soviet Union. The war there lasted 1,418 days from June 22, 1941, and historians estimate that some 27 million Soviet soldiers and civilians were killed. Meanwhile, in a symbolic decision, Ukraine is set to become a formal candidate for membership in the European Union on Thursday, EU diplomats said. Russia’s failure to make a major breakthrough from the invasion of Ukraine means that time is on the side of the Ukrainians, according to some military analysts. “It’s a heavyweight boxing match … there has not been a knockout yet. It will come as RU forces become more depleted,” wrote retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a former U.S. ground commander in Europe. Twitter.
