Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday (19) that Russian troops now control territory in Ukraine that is “five times larger” than that occupied by pro-Russians before the start of the war, in February 2022.
“Russian troops liberated a territory that is five times larger than that occupied by the people's republics of Luhansk and Donetsk before the start of the special military operation,” Shoigu said at a Russian army summit led by President Vladimir Putin.
Shoigu highlighted that, “as a result of the referenda (on territories annexed in 2022), the Russian Federation included four new entities with a total area of more than 83,000 square kilometers and with a population of approximately five million people.”
The Russian minister also stated that, since the start of the Russian war campaign, in February 2022, Kiev has lost more than 383 thousand men, including dead and injured. “Since the beginning of the special operation, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have exceeded 383 thousand military personnel killed and wounded; 14 thousand tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers; 553 planes and 259 helicopters”, he detailed.
Shoigu, who did not reveal the casualties on the Russian side, which have officially remained at 5,937 since September 2022, also commented that meeting the objectives of the Russian “special military operation” continues to be the Army's priority for next year.
“The priority tasks for next year are to continue the special military operation until the tasks assigned by the supreme commander are completed,” he stressed.
Putin said last week that the goals of the war in Ukraine have not changed and continue to consist of “demilitarization, denazification and neutral status” of the neighboring country. For this, according to Shoigu, Russia has the necessary resources, including the men who sign contracts with the Army every day and whose number will increase to 745 thousand by the end of 2024.
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