(PrimeChronicle.org) – Close to half of a million Russian soldiers have been wounded or killed. Russia’s casualties have increased by 25% compared to the previous year at war. Nearly 30,000 Russian troops died over the last year.
Since the war against Ukraine began, roughly 50,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to sacrifice massive numbers of troops in order to win. Putin’s strategy has been compared to a meat grinder.
In addition to the casualties, over 10,000 Russian vehicles have been destroyed. An additional 1,500 artillery have also been knocked out or captured. Reports suggest Russia has lost over 80 percent of its initial troops.
On the other side of the contested border, Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy also downplayed the number of casualties. In February of 2024, Zelenskyy claimed just over 30,000 of his troops had been killed. United States’ intelligence agencies suggest that both Putin and Zelenskyy’s death counts are significantly higher than the presidents are reporting. Russian casualties rose sharply in January 2023 with 50,000 dead, more than half of which were civilian recruits, not enlisted soldiers.
The United Nations Human Rights Office confirmed over 10,000 Ukrainian civilian casualties with over 18,000 wounded in 2023. The UN asserts that the numbers are much greater. Beyond casualties, the war has also displaced countless Ukrainian as well as Russian citizens including reports of families being forcibly separated. Violence against women has become a major concern as incidents targeting civilians increase.
In 2023 alone 93 journalists were killed worldwide while covering various conflicts. In 2021 the number was 67. The majority of journalists killed lost their lives while reporting on the Israel-Gaza war while at least 12 journalists were killed in Ukraine.
In addition to deaths, globally about 400 journalists are being held in captivity across various countries. Just under 100 are being held in China while 40 are being held in Russia.
Copyright 2024, PrimeChronicle.org
