**Russia Spends $200 Billion on Ukraine War, Loses Over 700,000 Troops**
The United States‘ Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Russia has spent at least $200 billion on its war with Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. This was revealed during a conference in California on December 7.
Austin also stated that Moscow has lost more soldiers in the first year of the war than in any other conflict since World War II combined. He added that Russia is losing at least 1,000 troops per day in recent months.
The U.S. official estimated that Russia has suffered over 700,000 casualties since February 2022. These figures are close to those provided by Ukraine’s military, which reported more than 750,000 Russian losses as of December 9.
**Ukraine Also Suffers Heavy Losses**
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had lost 43,000 soldiers killed and 370,000 wounded. Austin compared Russia’s losses to those in all its conflicts since World War II, saying they were more than Moscow’s losses combined.
Austin also warned against an isolationist U.S. foreign policy, emphasizing the importance of alliances with fellow democracies.
**Impact on U.S. Aid for Ukraine**
U.S. aid for Ukraine is uncertain as President-elect Donald Trump vowed to end the war in 24 hours upon his reelection. He hinted that one way to achieve this would be reducing aid for Ukraine to force it to negotiate a peace deal.
In an interview, Trump said there was a possibility of reduced U.S. assistance to Ukraine, adding that Russia had suffered 600,000 casualties and Ukraine lost 400,000 soldiers injured or wounded.
**Other Developments**
* A 73-year-old man in a town near Kherson died after explosives were dropped from a drone on December 8.
* Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus as rebel forces swept into the capital on December 8. Reuters reported that Assad’s plane was supposed to take off but might have been delayed.
* Russia claimed control over the village of Beretsky in Donetsk Oblast, but Ukrainian officials have not commented on this claim.
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