There is no “Ukrainian crisis,” as so many in Moscow and the West continue to say; there is instead an all too real Russian war in and against Ukraine, one that Kyiv is fighting against. And Ukraine’s First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Rusnak this week provided new numbers that demonstrate that tragic reality beyond any reasonable doubt.
Speaking to a meeting in Kyiv today, Rusnak described the Russian invasion and occupation forces, the losses human and otherwise they have imposed on his country, and the burden the Ukrainian people have been forced to bear in opposing what Moscow has done and is doing in Ukraine:
- A massive Russian invasion and occupation force. There are more than 60,000 Russian troops in Ukraine and along the Russian Ukrainian border, outfitted with modern weapons, and officered almost exclusively at the top by Russian cadres officers and generals.
- 2700 Ukrainians Fighters Killed and More than 10,000 Wounded. Ukraine has suffered massive human losses as Russian forces have killed more than 2700 Ukrainian troops and wounded more than 10,000 in addition.
- 50 Billion US Dollars in Property Losses. Rusnak says that preliminary assessments suggest that “in the east of Ukraine,” Russian actions have destroyed “objects of energy, transportation and social infrastructure” worth about 50 billion US dollars.
- An Ever-Increasing Defense Burden on Ukraine. This year, the deputy minister says, Ukraine spent 64 billion hryvnia (2.46 billion US dollars) and plans to spend even more next, 74 billion hryvnia (2.85 billion US dollars).
Related:
- Number of those killed in Donbas war rises to 10,090 – UN report
- The 75 Russian military units at war in Ukraine
- Donbas “separatists” got 33 types of military systems from Russia – report
- Ukraine is in a state of war with Russia – and Kyiv needs to say so, Sungurovsky says
- Ukraine re-thinking its approach to Donbas war. Key things to know
- War propaganda not covered by freedom of speech: EU Court rejects complaint by Kiselev
- Ukraine ramps up fight against Russia’s hybrid war
- Three years into war, Ukrainians more positive toward aggressor than vice versa
