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Russian losses in Ukraine

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Analysis: No Elon Musk, Russian soldiers in Ukraine are not 'kids' who have 'no choice but to fight and die'

"We should (have) some sympathy for the poor Russian conscripts too. Those kids have no choice but to fight and die in drone strikes." For anyone watching and understanding Ukraine's years-long struggle for survival, the words of SpaceX founder and world's richest man Elon Musk ring with deep moral bankruptcy. But more importantly, Musk's post on Oct. 25 — made in the middle of a hurricane scandal around Musk's throttling of Starlink internet terminals used by the Ukrainian military — badly mi

Musk's meddling in Ukraine's Starlink is a warning to every country relying on private tech

In the midst of Donald Trump's attempt to turn Russian diesel into a political asset to help him avoid disaster in November's midterm elections, the internet went out on the front lines. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian forces have relied on Starlink to communicate, and essentially to manage the battlefield of the 21st century. When its service was cut to Ukraine this October, there were big questions about who was responsible for pulling that particular lever. The Wal

Elon Musk looks on as Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sept. 29, 2026.

About Russian losses

The Kyiv Independent's coverage of Russian military losses. Ukraine's General Staff publishes daily reports on Russian military casualties, equipment destruction, and material losses since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Independent verification of casualty figures remains challenging due to the ongoing nature of the war, though open-source intelligence analysts and Western defense officials provide periodic assessments of Russian losses.

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