Ukrainian soldiers attend military training as the Russia-Ukraine war continues, in the regions close to the front line in the Donetsk region, Ukraine on March 15, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russia has lost 782,510 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 27.
This number includes 1,650 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 9,644 tanks, 19,951 armored fighting vehicles, 32,262 vehicles and fuel tanks, 21,379 artillery systems, 1,256 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,032 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 329 helicopters, 20,999 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
The Ukrainian delegation in New York will reportedly brief the international community about the scale of destruction and will urge an immediate ceasefire and the protection of civilians.
The U.S. State Department approved a military sale to Ukraine for Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles and related equipment worth an estimated $825 million, the agency announced on Aug. 28.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto described the strike as "an attack on Hungary’s sovereignty," saying it "endangered our energy security and nearly (forced) the use of our strategic reserves."
Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) struck a Russian 91N6E radar system, part of the S-400 Triumph air defense system, in occupied Crimea overnight on Aug. 28, HUR reported.
Some 219,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the war in Ukraine, Mediazona and Meduza reported, basing the calculations on the list of verified deaths and other data.
Ukrainian forces downed 46 out of the 68 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones and decoys, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Twenty-two drones managed to strike at nine different locations.
"Perhaps both sides of this war are not ready to end it themselves," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said after another deadly Russian attack on Kyiv.
The buffer zone is being weighed by European leaders as an option for a ceasefire or postwar arrangement between Ukrainian and Russian forces, but the U.S. is not involved in the discussions, five unnamed European diplomats said.
"This strike clearly shows that Russia’s goals have not changed. They want war — and they are striking not only our people, not only our cities and communities. Russia is now striking at everyone in the world who seeks peace," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Olena Goncharova
