https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ukrainian-official-reveals-10000-soldiers-lost-since-februar

Ukrainian official reveals 10,000 soldiers lost since February

Alexey Arestovich, Ukrainian presidential aide, indicated, on Friday, that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost 10,000 personnel since the beginning of the Russian military operation in February, claiming at the same time that Kiev’s losses remain significantly lower than Moscow’s.

Without providing any evidence, the Ukrainian presidential aide revealed, in an interview with activist and YouTuber Mark Feygin, that at least 200 to 300 Russian soldiers die on a daily basis. During the interview, Arestovich claimed that “at the beginning of the conflict, 100 people [Ukrainians] died per day on average. But in the Russian army, 1,000 per day died in the first 20-30 days. Now 200-300 die, no less.” The Ukrainian official also stated that Friday was unusual for the Ukrainian Army as “600 people [died] in one day, no less.”

When asked by Feygin that if, based on the calculations, it is fair to assume that the total number of deaths added up to approximately 10,000 soldiers, the official responded with “yes, something like that.”

Read more: 300+ Ukrainian troops blocked at Azot Plant in Severodonetsk

For the first time since the beginning of the special operation, the Ukrainian aide admitted to a cumulative number of deaths. On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense reports on the Ukrainian Army’s losses are much higher – 23,367, as of April 18.

Moscow has not revealed total numbers on its end as of yet. However, earlier this month, Andrey Kartapolov, the head of the Russian Duma’s Defense Committee claimed that given the change in the military strategy, the Russian Army “practically ceased to lose people,” noting that the numbers and information regarding lost military personnel have been unchanged at 1,351 soldiers since last March.

Earlier in May, the Russian Ministry of Defense highlighted that in total, some 183 Ukrainian aircraft and 128 helicopters, 1,049 unmanned aerial vehicles, 325 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,309 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 447 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,722 field artillery and mortars, and 3,270 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed during the war in Ukraine.

It is noteworthy that on May 28, Russia's Defense Ministry said that Russian and DPR forces seized the strategic town of Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People's Republic, on the road to two key cities still under Kiev's control.