The fighting in eastern Ukraine continues.
(Photo: dpa)
Kyiv, Washington According to estimates by US intelligence services, more than 20,000 soldiers have been killed on the Russian side since December in fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and other parts of the country. About half of them are Wagner mercenaries, said National Security Council communications director John Kirby on Monday in Washington.
According to unconfirmed information from Kiev, Russia has even suffered total losses of 200,000 men in Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February of the previous year, as stated in the daily updated situation report on Monday. Nevertheless, the Russian military is continuing its attacks – and the Ukrainian troops are preparing their offensive to recapture the occupied territories.
Most of the Wagner mercenaries who died in Bachmut were Russian convicts who had been sent to war without adequate combat or combat training, Kirby said. The total number of soldiers killed and injured on the Russian side since December as a result of the fighting for the city, which has now been largely destroyed, is estimated by the secret services at more than 100,000. Kirby did not provide information on the number of victims of the Ukrainian armed forces.
US Chief of Staff Mark Milley reported in November that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war. The same probably applies to the Ukrainian side, he said in New York at the time. These numbers cannot be independently verified.
After its invasion more than 14 months ago, Russia controls almost a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Bachmut has been under attack from the Russian army and the Wagner troops for months. According to their own statements, the attackers now control around 85 percent of the city area.
May Day artillery duels and rocket attacks in Ukraine
Several people were killed in Russian rocket attacks and artillery duels in Ukraine on Monday. According to the General Staff in Kiev, the Russian armed forces used cruise missiles and fighter jets. Several civilians were killed or injured in attacks in the east of the country and in central Ukraine. In addition, numerous buildings were damaged or destroyed.
In the Zaporizhia region of central Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian troops engaged in intense artillery duels throughout the day. At least two civilians were killed and 14 others injured in Russian-occupied Mikhailovka, the Russian state agency TASS reported, citing local authorities. The information provided by the warring parties could not initially be verified independently.
New explosions over the occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea caused unrest among the local population on Monday. According to Russian media, a Ukrainian drone was shot down by anti-aircraft defenses in the west of the peninsula. At the weekend, a fuel depot in the port city of Sevastopol caught fire as a result of a drone attack.
Selenski: Air defense must become more effective
After the latest Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced more effective anti-aircraft defenses. “We are working with our partners as actively as possible to make the protection of our airspace even more reliable,” said Selesnki on Monday in his video speech every evening. “Last night alone, from midnight to seven in the morning, we managed to shoot down 15 Russian missiles,” said Zelensky – “but unfortunately not all of them.”
After invading Ukraine more than 14 months ago, Russia controls almost a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
The reason for his statements were Russian attacks with cruise missiles and rockets on Monday night and during the course of the day. Several projectiles fell in Pavlohrad in central Ukraine, injuring at least 34 people.
Numerous buildings were destroyed or at least damaged. Selenskyj announced retaliation for the attacks. “Any such attack will be answered by the Russian occupiers,” he said.
Kiev’s defense minister: Preparations for the offensive in the final phase
According to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine’s preparations for the expected spring offensive to recapture Russian-occupied territories are “in the final phase”. “I believe in her,” he said on state television on Monday. “A lot has been done for their success.”
“I think that as of today we can turn onto the home straight and say: Yes, everything is ready,” emphasized Resnikov. “And then, based on the decision and understanding the situation on the battlefield, the General Staff, the Commander-in-Chief and his team will decide how, where and when,” the minister said.
Like Ukraine’s international partners, he is convinced of the success of the offensive. After all, Kiev’s partners understand that success “is in the security interests of their countries and their people.”
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:
After his troops reconquered the occupied territories, Reznikov decided to condemn Russia’s political and military leadership. “There must be a verdict from an international tribunal for the Kremlin’s military criminals and this mafia gang,” he demanded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “and those around him must sit”. A conviction would send a clear signal to all successors and descendants in Russia: “Do not think of revenge.”
What does the day bring?
At the suggestion of President Zelensky, the Ukrainian parliament wants to extend the state of war and the duration of compulsory military service on Tuesday. Both expire on May 20th.
More: Current news on the development of the Ukraine war can be found in our news blog