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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
The high casualties, coupled with Ukrainian troops’ inability to breach Russian defence lines, have set the panic alarm ringing in Washington and European capitals
NEW DELHI: Ukraine’s ambitious spring offensive is getting harder by each passing day. Now, US Intelligence officials say that the country has lost around 14 per cent of its 5 lakh strong force to the Russians in the ongoing war.
BBC quotes officials on the front line in the country’s east to report that the Ukrainian military is killing its soldiers by dozens every day, with bodies of “soldiers lie piled high in a small brick mortuary” near the front line in Donetsk region.
Though Ukraine has kept the number of its soldiers dead as a state secret. The New York Times recently, citing senior US officials, put the number at 70,000 and the number of injured at 120,000 – which is a staggering loss for a country estimated to have 5 lakh regular soldiers. The United Nations has documented 9,177 civilian deaths as of now.
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The report says there has been a “dramatic rise” in the number of casualties in the recent weeks as Ukrainian soldiers struggle to break through Russian defence positions.
As per a recent Washington Post report, the US intelligence community believes that Ukraine’s counteroffensive may fall short of its objective to reach the strategically crucial southeastern city of Melitopol.
Melitopol holds immense significance in Ukraine’s counteroffensive strategy as it serves as the gateway to Crimea. Situated at the crossroads of pivotal highways and a railroad line, the city enables Russia to move its military assets between the peninsula and other occupied regions in southern Ukraine.
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This prognosis has sparked discussions across Kyiv, Washington, and Western capitals about the reasons behind this unexpected outcome, despite significant Western military support.
Russia’s adept defensive strategies, utilizing minefields and trenches, has been attributed to Ukrainian soldiers’ inability to penetrate deeper into territories captured by Russian soldiers since the outbreak of the war in February last year. This potentially jeopardizes Kyiv’s aim to cut Russia’s land bridge to Crimea.
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In the initial days of June, Ukraine launched the spring offensive with the hope of emulating its success from the previous year’s push through the Kharkiv region.
However, Ukraine has suffered huge casualties while attempting to breach Russia’s well-prepared defenses, despite the deployment of newly acquired Western equipment, including US Bradley Fighting Vehicles, German Leopard 2 tanks, and specialized mine-clearing vehicles.
