Russia has lost more than 100,000 soldiers in its war against Ukraine, the Ukrainian Army General Staff said today, DPA reported.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, 100,400 Russian soldiers have been “eliminated”. This could mean they were killed or seriously injured and unfit for duty, DPA noted.
Russia recently reported 6,000 deaths among its ranks. Contrary to this information, an independent Russian media claims to have identified 10,000 Russian soldiers killed in combat by name.
Ukraine itself does not provide data on its losses in the daily reports of its General Staff. More than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed recently in fighting by the presidential office in Kiev.
The two sides in the war publish daily data on the “losses” of the enemy and very rarely on the dead and wounded in their own ranks. This information cannot be independently verified, says the DPA.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported 5,937 soldiers who died in September. It is possible that their number is much higher so far, DPA points out.
Dmitry Rogozin was wounded during shelling in Donetsk
Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was injured when Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine and one person died, TASS and Reuters reported.
The prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Vitaly Khotsenko, was also reported to have been injured in the shelling of a hotel in the vicinity of Donetsk.
Russian MP Alexei Zhuravlev, who was at the scene, said one person was killed in the shelling and Rogozin and Khotsenko were injured.
Currently, Rogozin leads a group of military advisers “Tsarski Wolves”. Previously he headed the Russian space agency.
Rogozin was hospitalized after being wounded in the bombing, but his life is not in danger. The people accompanying him were also injured. According to information, Khotsenko’s life is also not in danger.
Zelensky met Polish President Andrzej Duda on his way to Kiev
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Polish President Andrzej Duda on his way to Kiev following his US visit, Reuters reported.
“On my way home, I met Ukraine’s friend, President of Poland, Andrzej Duda,” Zelensky said, as quoted by Ukrinform.
“We took stock of the year that brought historic challenges due to full-scale war,” the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram after meeting with his Polish counterpart. “We also discussed strategic plans for the future, bilateral relations and international interactions in 2023,” he added.
Duda’s adviser, Pavel Shrot, told Reuters that the two presidents “talked for a long time, almost two hours. First of all, about President Zelensky’s visit to the US and the importance of this visit for support for Ukraine, and also of bilateral relations between Poland and Ukraine.” .
According to Polish radio RMF FM, which cites unofficial information, the meeting between Zelenski and Duda most likely took place in the city of Rzeszów.
The Russian Defense Minister has visited military personnel in Ukraine
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited army units in Ukraine, Reuters reported, referring to the department he heads.
RIA Novosti quoted a Russian Defense Ministry statement that Shoigu was with Russian units deployed in the “special military operations zone,” as Moscow calls its invasion of Ukraine. The agency did not specify exactly where and when the visit took place.
“Sergei Shoigu has inspected the conditions in which military personnel and equipment are housed” in the areas of temporary deployment of the units, the announcement read. Shoigu paid special attention to the organization of conditions for housing servicemen in field conditions.
US imposes new export restrictions affecting Wagner
The US government has announced new restrictions on the export of technology affecting the Russian military company Wagner. With this move, the United States is seeking to further limit supplies to the company due to its role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Wagner was placed on a trade blacklist in 2017 after Russia annexed Crimea to Ukraine. The company will now be designated a military end user and will be subject to severe new restrictions on accessing technology created anywhere in the world with American equipment.
“The Wagner Company is one of the world’s most notorious mercenary organizations and has actively committed atrocities and human rights violations in Ukraine,” said US Commerce Under Secretary Alan Estevez for Industry and Security.
“Today we are sending a clear message to non-state actors seeking to take the baton of brutality from Putin’s stumbling army that the Commerce Department will not hesitate to take action against them,” he said.
