The war in Ukraine – Huge Russian losses

Ukrainian authorities have now released new data on alleged casualties to the Russians, both people and military equipment.

The General Staff of Ukraine says that since the Russian invasion on February 24 of this year, and until now, the Ukrainian armed forces must have eliminated 52,950 Russian soldiers.

Ukraine refers to Russian soldiers for eliminating the invaders. The general staff also claims that on 10 September alone 300 Russian soldiers will have been killed in combat.

Excessively

Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen of the Norwegian Defense Academy believes the alleged loss figures are significantly exaggerated.

– British and American intelligence believe that the Russian casualty figures are around 20,000 troops. There is also great uncertainty about these figures, explains the lieutenant colonel.

Karlsen believes that the reason why the general staff of Ukraine exaggerates the number of Russian soldiers killed is the desire to give the impression that militarily they are doing even better than they really are.

Touch the shop

Ukraine is keeping its military losses hidden. There are no certain assumptions about how many Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the war.

– Information on killed Ukrainian soldiers is uncertain. There is also the number of civilian lives lost during the war, says Lieutenant Colonel Karlsen.

The UN has established the number of Ukrainian civilian lives that nearly 6,000 people were killed.

In April, the mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Bojchenko, said that some 21,000 civilians had lost their lives in the Ukrainian port city alone.

After several months of siege and bitter fighting, Mayor Bojchenko now believes there may be around 90,000 civilians who have lost their lives in the Mariupol district.

Like a Norwegian city

– It is difficult to manage information from Ukraine. Everything suggests that the information could be greatly exaggerated. At the same time, there is no doubt that the casualty figures between Russian soldiers and the Ukrainian civilian population are high, says Lieutenant Colonel Karlsen.

Although the death toll of the general staff in Ukraine is likely significantly exaggerated, British and American intelligence figures show that up to 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the February invasion.

The number of people killed corresponds to the population of Norwegian cities such as Gjøvik and Horten.

– Historically, there are many examples of warring parties deliberately misleading to give the impression that they are more successful in the military than they really are, says the lieutenant colonel.

Ukrainian progress

The general staff in Ukraine has also published how much Russian military material must be rendered harmless or destroyed.

– Some of the figures may be correct. But there is reason to assume that the Ukrainian authorities are taking it very hard. At the same time, there is no doubt that a lot of Russian military material has been destroyed, but probably not as much as the Ukrainians claim, says Lieutenant Colonel Karlsen.

Although there are great doubts about the loss figures published by the Ukrainian staff, Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen has no doubt that In recent weeks, Ukraine has made significant military progress.

Credible information, also supported by Western intelligence, shows that Ukraine has been on the offensive in recent weeks. They have taken over the areas that have been occupied by the Russians for several months.

– What are the reasons why the Russians now seem to be on the defensive?

– There are several reasons for this. Everything suggests that Ukraine has managed to coordinate its military resources much better than the Russians. The interaction between ground, air and artillery crews was successful.

– High morale and a willingness to fight are probably also an important factor in Ukrainian military progress.

Successful deception

Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen also points to what he calls a successful deception, which caused the Russians to shift their military forces.

The Russians thought Ukrainian forces would counter-offense in the area around Kherson in southern Ukraine and move forces there.

– Historically, compared to Western democracies, Russians have always been willing to suffer great human losses. We also see it in Ukraine, says the lieutenant colonel.

– Has Ukraine received weapons from NATO countries, which may have led to military progress?

– Ukraine is completely dependent on the delivery of weapons from the West. An example are the HIMARS rockets (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, in Norwegian høymobilitets artillery rocket system, ed), which they received from the Americans. The rocket system is accurate and hits where they should. The rocket system has a range of 80 km. This weapon system is technologically superior to what the Russians have access to, says Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen.

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