Russia Ukraine Update Thread - part 2

Ukraine’s army chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said almost 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February.

This is the first time Ukraine has revealed the scale of its military losses since the war began, previously protected as a tightly guarded secret.

Ukraine claims that as many as 45,000 Russian troops have died in Ukraine since February. The CIA, however, has put the total number of Russians dead closer to 15,000 in July.

Link

originally posted by: WeDemBoyz

Ukraine’s army chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said almost 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February.

This is the first time Ukraine has revealed the scale of its military losses since the war began, previously protected as a tightly guarded secret.

Ukraine claims that as many as 45,000 Russian troops have died in Ukraine since February. The CIA, however, has put the total number of Russians dead closer to 15,000 in July.

Link

BBC is reporting Russian casualties between 70.000 - 80,000

Russia does not give numbers, but Western officials say between 70,000 and 80,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since it launched its invasion six months ago

www.bbc.com...

21 August Update

Key Takeaways

* Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine have likely exhausted the limited momentum they gained at the end of July and are likely culminating. The Russian military has shown a continual inability to translate small tactical gains into operational successes, a failing that will likely prevent Russia from making significant territorial advances in the coming months barring major changes on the battlefield.

* Ukrainian military intelligence reports that Russia and Belarus have reached an “urgent” agreement for Belarus to repair damaged Russian aviation equipment for re-use in Ukraine. This agreement could be part of a Russian effort to use the looser sanctions regime on Belarus to circumvent sectoral sanctions on Russia.

* Russian forces attempted several unsuccessful ground assaults southwest and southeast of Izyum.

* Russian forces launched a ground attack southeast of Siversk and northeast and south of Bakhmut.

* Russian forces made limited gains west of Donetsk City but did not conduct any ground assaults on the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast administrative border.

* Russian forces attempted unsuccessful ground assaults southwest of Donetsk City and continued attacking settlements northwest and southwest of Avdiivka.

* Russian forces conducted several assaults on the Kherson-Mykolaiv frontline and made partial advances east of Mykolaiv City.

* Russian forces are likely not training new recruits in discipline, creating an entitled force engaging in disorderly conduct in Russia and illegal conduct in Ukraine.

* Russian occupation authorities intensified filtration measures and abductions in occupied territories ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24.

More at URL above.

Cheers

a reply to: alldaylong

if that is accurate wouldnt that mean they lost more troops then the usa did in vietnam and korea combined at this point?

a reply to: Freeborn

August is the big vacation month in Russia so he's been off the clock I'd guess.

originally posted by: RalagaNarHallas
a reply to: alldaylong

if that is accurate wouldnt that mean they lost more troops then the usa did in vietnam and korea combined at this point?

"Casualties" = dead + wounded.

Vietnam and Korea combined would be a figure of around 350,000 maybe, so not even close yet. Still significant numbers though, have to wonder when the Russian population get tired of it.

a reply to: merka

Soviet (Russian) losses in the Afghanistan War (1979-1989) were about 18 killed and 50K wounded. The repressive Soviet authorities were unable to keep the lid on the war, as the returning wounded could tell the stories. The failure in Afghanistan contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union, as the Red Army was shown to be poor.

History may be repeating.

22 August Update

Key Takeaways

* Russian-backed occupation authorities in Zaporizhia Oblast have obliquely declared the independence of the occupied areas of the oblast by falsely identifying Ukrainian citizens entering from unoccupied Ukraine as temporary asylum seekers.

* Russian forces conducted localized spoiling attacks southwest and southeast of Izyum.

* Russian forces continued ground attacks southeast of Siversk and northeast and south of Bakhmut.

* Russian forces continued attempts to advance from the northern and western outskirts of Donetsk City and conducted limited ground attacks southwest of Donetsk City.

* Russian forces made marginal gains along the Mykolaiv-Kherson line.

* Ukrainian intelligence stated that the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) will start “general mobilization” processes on September 1.

* Prymorsky Krai announced the formation of a new repair and service volunteer battalion.

* Ukrainian partisans continued to conduct attacks against Russian forces in occupied Melitopol.

More at URL above.

Cheers

Russian tanks are in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv
Ukraine was planning a celebration in Kyiv for their independence day on August 24 tomorrow, but threats of an attack tomorrow from Russia may find Ukranians hiding in basements and bomb shelters then. The US embassy in Ukraine says any Americans still in Ukraine should get out now. So people are coming out a day earlier to see the Russian tanks and other vehicles, or what's left of them. Some might be repairable, some are beyond repair.

originally posted by: merka
Vietnam and Korea combined would be a figure of around 350,000 maybe, so not even close yet. Still significant numbers though, have to wonder when the Russian population get tired of it.

I think the Russians already are tired of it. According to this article, the Russians are having trouble recruiting volunteers for the war, excuse me, "special operation":

Ukraine war: Russia appeals for new recruits for war effort

The number of cars on Russian roads displaying the pro-war "Z" symbol is still relatively few. Experts say that the numbers of volunteers joining up are low.

Military analyst Pavel Luzin says people here are not ready to sacrifice themselves for their president.

"The problem for the Kremlin is that most Russian people are not going to die for Putin or for the restoration of 'the great Empire'. Recruitment isn't possible in current circumstances because there is no civil consensus in Russia for the war.

"Compare this with Ukraine. The Ukrainians are ready to fight."

Casualty numbers mentioned in this video at time 7:47
The casualty numbers Ukraine's chief general commander claimed today were 9000 dead Ukrainian soldiers since the beginning of the war. There are about 5 times as many dead Russian soldiers, plus of course both sides have many injured in addition to the dead. A more sad statistic is Ukraine's claim that 20,000 civilians were killed in Mariupol and elsewhere, which isn't hard to believe when you see pictures of the entire city destroyed. Ukraine doesn't seem to be targeting Russian civilians. Figures are subject to correction.

This sounds like they know from intel source something big coming soon ?

US citizens urged to depart Ukraine now

There are reports a New Zealand soldier who was on leave has been killed in Ukraine, the Defence Force says.
The soldier was on a period of leave without pay, and was not on active duty with the NZDF, it said.

The army would work closely with the soldier's family to offer support, NZDF said.

Article

Unfortunately, to my knowledge, the soldier's family won't qualify for related government support, as they were on "leave".

23 August Update

Key Takeaways

* Russian government sources confirmed that Russian authorities are bringing Ukrainian children to Russia and having Russian families adopt them. The forcible transfer of children from one group to another “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” is a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

* Russian authorities are deploying security forces to Luhansk Oblast likely in response to waning support for the war and growing unwillingness to fight among Luhansk residents. This deployment diverts these forces from operations elsewhere in Ukraine, likely contributing to the broader Russian failure to translate limited tactical gains into operational successes.

* Russian officials may have conducted a false flag event in Donetsk City to justify attacks against Ukrainian government buildings on Ukrainian Independence Day.

* Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks northeast and south of Bakhmut, on the northwestern outskirts of Donetsk City, and southwest of Donetsk City.

* Russian forces made limited gains east of Mykolaiv City and in northwestern Kherson Oblast.

* Ukrainian forces continued to strike Russian military assets and ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in Kherson Oblast.

* Russian federal subjects (regions) are continuing to increase one-time enlistment bonuses for recruits, and are likely recruiting personnel with no prior military experience for specialist positions.

* Ukrainian partisan activity continues to disrupt Russian occupation activities.

More at URL above.

Cheers

Holy smoke this could get scary.............................. "Revealed: Russian plan to disconnect Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant from grid. Plan risks catastrophic failure of cooling systems, says head of Ukraine’s atomic energy company"

"A detailed plan has been drawn up by Russia to disconnect Europe’s largest nuclear plant from Ukraine’s power grid, risking a catastrophic failure of its cooling systems, the Guardian has been told. www.theguardian.com...

World leaders have called for the Zaporizhzhia site to be demilitarised after footage emerged of Russian army vehicles inside the plant, and have previously warned Russia against cutting it off from the Ukrainian grid and connecting it up to the Russian power network.

But Petro Kotin, the head of Ukraine’s atomic energy company, told the Guardian in an interview that Russian engineers had already drawn up a blueprint for a switch on the grounds of emergency planning should fighting sever remaining power connections."

"Other threats to nuclear security at the plant include vehicles packed so tightly into turbine halls that firefighters would struggle to access them if a fire broke out, and a campaign of terror against workers who have chosen to stay at the frontline plant.

One was beaten to death, and another so severely injured that he needed three months to recover. More than 200 have been detained, Kotin said.

The plant’s electricity connections are already in a critical situation, with three of the four main lines connecting it to Ukraine’s grid broken during the war, and two of the three back-up lines connecting it to a conventional power plant also down, he said."

Scary stuff. Might be worth moving to America or Africa for a few months until things settle down.

24 August Update

Key Takeaways

* Russian forces have lost an area larger than Denmark since the high-water mark of their invasion of Ukraine in mid-March and gained an area the size of Andorra (one percent of what they have lost) in the last 39 days.

* Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reaffirmed that Russia has not changed its maximalist strategic war aims.

* Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks southwest and southeast of Izyum, northeast and south of Bakhmut, and west and southwest of Donetsk City.

* Russian forces conducted a limited ground attack in northwestern Kherson Oblast.

* Ukrainian forces continued to target Russian military assets and ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in Kherson and Zaporizhia Oblasts.

* Russian occupation authorities continue to face partisan and internal challenges to the administration of occupation agendas.

* Russian proxy leadership is continuing efforts to oversee the legislative and administrative integration of occupied territories into Russian systems.

More at URL above.

Cheers

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

Scary stuff. Might be worth moving to America or Africa for a few months until things settle down.

Costa Rica would be better if you're looking for relative calm.

Cheers

Granted, one must take what appears on social media with a grain of salt. Also, the Bushmaster is a troop carrier and not an infantry fighting vehicle. But the Ukrainians are likely modifying equipment donated by the international community to meet battlefield circumstances. Such innovations are probably happening at the unit or regional command levels. How effective the Ukrainian and Russian militaries are at assimilating lessons and innovation will play a role in the war's outcome.

The Australian Army and defence industry will desire to learn from how the Ukrainians employ their Bushmasters. But, in general, the advent of drones, and the return of more prolonged conventional warfare, including a focus on artillery, ensures camouflage, concealment, and trenches are back in vogue.


Related Tweet

originally posted by: F2d5thCavv2
a reply to: ufoorbhunter

Scary stuff. Might be worth moving to America or Africa for a few months until things settle down.

Costa Rica would be better if you're looking for relative calm.

Cheers

Thanks so much for the advice Cavv. You obviously been thinking similar thoughts being a prepper. I have a friend who is also planning to get out of as much harms way before being nuked if things totally kick off proper style. He told me his destination would be Costa Rica, he reckoned it's the happiest place on Earth

This seems worse than ominous-

Army members have been told that they "must be prepared" for the possibility of being deployed to Ukraine to fight in the war against Russia.
Warrant Officer Paul Carney issued the warning six months on from Vladimir Putin's invasion of the country in February, saying that British troops “must be prepared for new realities” as the UK military was now “shaping itself to meet the threat from Russia”.
WO1 Carney, the Army’s highest-ranking Warrant Officer, instructed soldiers to check that they were physically fit enough for operations, as well as taking the time to have conversations with family members,

www.chroniclelive.co.uk...

Putin has already stated that anyone joining in the war on Ukraines side will be directly at war with Russia.
Of course the UK government know this,yet they seem to have been telling the army to prepare to get directly involved..

They also must know that if we get involved and some of our guys get killed-that may result in an article 5 situation with the rest of NATO drawn into war with Russia.

Is that the plan now?
Was it the plan all along?

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

It's called preparing for any and all eventualities?

a reply to: Silcone Synapse
Russia planned to conduct additional attacks on Ukraine on Ukraine's independence day, August 24. Kyiv was under threat.

Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on Aug 24, and if Russia had harmed him, that might have been enough to drag UK into the war more directly:

'Ukraine can and will win this war,' says Boris Johnson as he visits Kyiv on Ukraine's Independence Day

Denys from Ukraine posts daily videos on youtube and he thought Boris was effectively a human shield that kept Russia from attacking Kyiv because he thought Russia didn't want to harm him and drag UK and the rest of NATO into the war. I suppose that's possible even if it wasn't his intent. Denys said Russia did send cruise missiles elsewhere but nowhere near Boris Johnson. Denys himself evacuated from his place because the sirens kept going off and he thought it too dangerous there.

Now if the Russians had harmed Boris Johnson, would that have got the UK involved in the war? Maybe some folks considered that a possibility.