Lavrov on Russian Military Casualties in Ukraine

There are casualties among the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, but it is not for observers to assess whether things are not going according to plan, said Lavrov in an interview with Russian and foreign media on Thursday, according to TASS.

Additionally, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the Kremlin considers the loss of Russian troops during the special military operation in Ukraine to be a great sorrow and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased. He stated that the heroism of the Russian Armed Forces during the operation would remain in history.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russian military personnel casualties over the course of a week amount to approximately 9,000 individuals. However, the previous day, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, stated that according to Russian data, 2,870 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and around 3,700 injured during the special military operation in Ukraine. Established data shows that there are 572 servicemen from the Ukrainian security forces who have been captured.

Konashenkov reported, "On the Russian side, 498 servicemen have been killed, and 1,597 have been injured." It is worth recalling that on the morning of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. In a televised address, he stated that the circumstances "require decisive and immediate actions from us, as the people's republics of Donbas have appealed to Russia for assistance." According to the Russian leader, all responsibility for the bloodshed will fall on the conscience of the Ukrainian regime in power. He called on Ukrainian military personnel not to follow the criminal orders of the Ukrainian authorities, to lay down their arms, and go home.