(Dan Tri) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu pointed out Ukraine’s loss of human resources since the war between the two countries broke out from 2022 until now.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu (Photo: Sputnik).
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on April 23 that Ukraine has lost nearly 500,000 soldiers since the conflict broke out between the two countries.
`In total, the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amount to nearly half a million soldiers since Russia began the special military operation,` Mr. Shoigu said at a meeting of the Ministry of Defense.
Ukraine has not commented on this information.
Mr. Shoigu stated that Russia is taking the initiative along the entire front line and is pushing back Ukrainian forces.
`Russian soldiers have dispelled the myth of the superiority of Western weapons,` he declared.
The Russian minister said the country would more aggressively target Ukrainian logistics centers and facilities storing Western weapons.
Commenting on the more than 60 billion USD aid bill for Ukraine that the US House of Representatives recently passed, Mr. Shoigu said that most of that money will fund America’s own military industry.
`Washington intends to allocate nearly 61 billion USD to the Kiev government to prevent the collapse of the Ukrainian armed forces. Most of the allocated money will finance the US military industry. The US administration stated
The minister added that the Russian military industry will continue to increase the production of weapons and military equipment commensurate with threats from the US and its allies.
The Russian army will receive the first version of the S-500 air defense missile system this year.
`This year the army will receive: The first units of the new generation S-500 air defense missile system and the S-400, S-300V4, Buk-M3 complexes, the Tor air defense missile system
In addition, he accused NATO of deploying 30,000 soldiers, 300 tanks and more than 800 armored vehicles of all types near the Russian border.
According to Mr. Shoigu, NATO exercises with the participation of 90,000 soldiers are taking place and this seems to be an opportunity for the alliance to rehearse aggressive scenarios with Russia.
He also said that NATO is trying to increase its activities in the Arctic and that Sweden joining NATO has increased tensions.
`Sweden’s accession to NATO in early March increased military and political tensions in (Russia’s) western and northwestern strategic directions,` Shoigu said.
The Russia-Ukraine war has lasted into its third year, but the prospect of the two sides sitting at the negotiating table again is still unclear due to disagreements over prerequisites.