Russian Forces Suffer Record Losses in November and December
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Dec. 11 that Russian forces have suffered record-high casualties in manpower during hostilities in both November and December.
According to the Ukrainian president, Moscow‘s troops are advancing at a rapid pace in Ukraine’s east, pushing back outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian defenders at the cost of staggering losses.
“Record Russian losses were seen in November and December,” Zelensky said on Telegram. The president added that the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove sectors in Donetsk Oblast remain the active parts of the front.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported on Dec. 1 that Russian losses throughout November amounted to 45,720 soldiers wounded, killed, or captured, as well as over $3 billion worth of equipment.
The ministry also noted that November saw a record-breaking figure for enemy personnel losses in one day with 2,030, the highest since Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian and Western estimates put Russian losses at between 600,000-750,000 killed, injured, or captured.
Despite the losses, Russia holds the upper hand on the battlefield, advancing toward key Donetsk Oblast towns like Pokrovsk and chipping away at the Ukrainian position in the Russian border region of Kursk.
Ukrainian forces have also achieved successes, including a strike against a Druzhba oil pipeline loading station near the Russian city of Bryansk, resulting in a large-scale fire.
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