Ukraine has lost over 13,700 troops and approximately 1,800 tanks and other heavy weaponry so far this month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu relayed on Tuesday during a ministerial meeting.
Russian forces have been actively thwarting Kievβs attempts to breach their defensive lines and continue to reduce Ukraineβs military capacity, the senior official said. He claimed that Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering in droves after realizing the futility of their counteroffensive.
The Russian minister issued his last assessment of Ukrainian casualties in late October, when he said they had surpassed 90,000 since the start of Kievβs ill-fated counteroffensive in early July. During this weekβs meeting, Shoigu described the cost paid by Ukrainian soldiers in the conflict asΒ βcolossal.β
