New figures from the US paint a picture of just how brutal the war in Ukraine is. More than 500,000 soldiers were reported killed or wounded, not counting civilian casualties. Experts meanwhile assume that the end of the violence is not yet in sight.
Every day people die in Ukraine. They step on mines, get shot down in melee combat, or burn up under rubble after a missile or drone strike. The New York Times now estimates that more than 500,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded since the start of the war a year and a half ago. This is the most recent data from US government officials.
Losses since the Russian attack last February have been higher on the Russian side than on the Ukrainian side, with about 300,000 killed or wounded.
Nearly 200,000 dead soldiers
The number of Russian soldiers killed is estimated at 120,000 and the number of wounded at 170,000 to 180,000. About 70,000 soldiers died in the fighting in Ukraine and 100,000 to 120,000 were injured. However, these are only estimates and cannot be independently verified. Kiev does not release official figures and the Kremlin has been accused of downgrading its statistics.
With all the uncertainty, only one thing is certain: the killing will continue.
More trench warfare than counter-offensive
The Ukrainian counter-offensive is progressing slowly. Russian troops dug in deep during the winter months. This war has long since become trench warfare. According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Russian defense lines are so densely littered with mines that there are as many as five mines per square meter in some parts of the front.
In a conversation with the British “Guardian”, he talked about millions of explosives along the front. There are minefields stretching for hundreds of miles. This is a serious obstacle to the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian troops.
A return to the negotiating table does not seem realistic at the moment. Vladimir Putin does not recognize Ukraine as a separate state, and Ukraine will not engage Russia until all enemy soldiers are back on Russian soil – including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
American elections can be decisive in the long run
Gustav Gressel, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council On Foreign Affairs in Berlin, told the Tagesschau newspaper on Friday: “You have to assume that this war will definitely last until 2025.” The duration depends crucially on the US presidential election in November 2024. . If Trump wins, there is a good chance that the US will withdraw as a partner.
Trump has already announced his intention to leave NATO. He repeatedly describes Putin as a “strong, intelligent” man. “From a Russian perspective, if Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November 2024, he could offer a deal in January 2025, making spring 2025 the earliest time the war could end on Russia’s own terms,” he said.
But on the ground there is no time for mind games. Ukraine has shot down 15 Russian drones in a nighttime attack, according to the air force. 17 Iranian Shahed drones were used in the attack, the air force reported Saturday in the Telegram online service.
She did not say what happened to the other two Russian drones. However, it can be assumed that they have not vanished into thin air and that more soldiers have become a statistic.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
