Kiev - Brussels: Agencies - Europe and the Arabs
The Ukrainian army announced on Thursday that the number of Russian soldiers killed had risen to 277,320 since the start of the military operation on February 24 of last year. According to what the Middle East News Agency reported on Thursday morning, it added, “The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated - as reported by the Ukrainian News Agency (Ukrain Forum) - that during this period, “Russia also lost 4,679 tanks, 8,962 armored vehicles, and 6,000.” 375 artillery systems, 793 multiple-launch missile launcher systems, 535 air defense systems, 315 combat aircraft, 316 helicopters, and 20 warships, as well as 8,815 vehicles and fuel tanks, in addition to 929 special equipment, and 4,957. A drone, and downed 1,529 cruise missiles and one submarine.”
This came after Reuters said that Viktor Sokolov, commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, who is considered one of the highest-ranking commanders of the Russian Navy, appeared in a video conference the day before yesterday, Tuesday, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him.
In a video and photos published by the Russian Ministry of Defense, Sokolov appeared to be participating in a conference with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and senior military commanders. The video was shown on Russian official television.
On Monday, Ukrainian special forces said that they killed Sokolov, the highest-ranking Russian admiral in Crimea, along with 33 other officers in a missile attack during the past days on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the city of Sevastopol.
Earlier, Tuesday, the Kremlin spokesman refused to comment on the Ukrainian allegations, and referred journalists to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In the video published by the ministry, Shoigu said that more than 17,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in September, and that more than 2,700 weapons, including seven American Bradley combat vehicles, were destroyed.
The Russian minister explained that the Ukrainian armed forces are suffering heavy losses along the entire front line, adding that the Ukrainian counterattack has not yielded any results so far.
Shoigu said that the United States and its allies continue to arm the Ukrainian armed forces, and that the Kiev regime has thrown untrained soldiers to their deaths in senseless attacks.