The Ukrainian military continues to inflict heavy casualties on the Russian forces, which are defending almost all across Ukraine.
On day 248 of the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian forces are still on the offensive while the Russian military has been forced on the defense everywhere except the south of the Donbas around the city of Bakhmut.
The Russian Casualties
The Russian casualty figures (those reported by Ukraine) broke the 70,000 killed mark on Saturday. If that number is accurate, then the Russian military has suffered between 140,000 and 210,000 total casualties (one killed usually means two or three wounded).
Overall, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that as of Saturday, Ukrainian forces have killed approximately 70,250 Russian troops (and wounded approximately thrice that number), destroyed 273 fighter, attack, and transport jets, 252 attack and transport helicopters, 2,659 tanks, 1,708 artillery pieces, 5,401 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 380 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), 16 boats and cutters, 4,107 vehicles and fuel tanks, 195 anti-aircraft batteries, 1,406 tactical unmanned aerial systems, 152 special equipment platforms, such as bridging vehicles, and four mobile Iskander ballistic missile systems, and 351 cruise missiles shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses.
More Weapons for Ukraine
The Biden Administration has approved another security aid package to Ukraine. Worth $275 million, the latest package of military aid (24th in total) features mainly more ammunition for the dwindling stocks of the Ukrainian forces. Here is what is included:
– Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
– 500 M982 Excalibur precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
– 2,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems;
– More than 1,300 anti-armor systems;
– 125 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
– Small arms and more than 2,750,000 rounds of small arms ammunition; and
– Four satellite communications antennas.
Since the start of the war, the U.S. has sent or committed to sending almost $18 billion in military aid to the Ukrainian military for a total of more than $18.5 billion since January 2021. By far, the U.S. is the single biggest contributor of weapons to Ukraine, with the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Poland taking up the rest three slots in the top four.
Indeed, despite their recent successes, the Ukrainian forces are running out of ammo for their artillery. The high rate of daily fire (as much as 6,000 rounds a day, depending on the intensity of the fighting) isn’t the only source of concern for the Ukrainians. Their artillery arsenal is made up of a hodgepodge of different weapon systems, ranging from Soviet-era 152mm artillery pieces to U.S.-made M777 155mm howitzers. The difference in caliber means that the Ukrainians can’t use the same rounds across the artillery forces, thus creating a logistical nightmare.
Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, fire a M777 towed 155 mm Howitzer on Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq, Aug. 10, 2019. The Soldiers conducted a fire mission to disrupt known enemy positions. As long as Daesh presents a threat, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve remains committed to enabling its defeat. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Spc. DeAndre Pierce)
As much as 30 percent of the Ukrainian artillery is NATO-standard. These weapon systems have been delivered to Ukraine as part of the ongoing stream of weaponry and intelligence that is daily flowing into Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
Expert Biography: A 19FortyFive Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
mcswell
October 30, 2022 at 12:47 am
Math error: “The Russian casualty figures (those reported by Ukraine) broke the 70,000 killed mark on Saturday. If that number is accurate, then the Russian military has suffered between 140,000 and 210,000 total casualties (one killed usually means two or three wounded).” No, if each one killed means 2 or 3 wounded, then the *total* casualties is between 210,000 and 280,000: 70,000 killed, and between 140,000 and 210,000 wounded.
Friend
October 30, 2022 at 8:15 am
America is about to become a corporate fascist state like Russia. It’s really never before been self sufficient so it’s taking notes from Putin. That’s the trouble when you let conservative peasants own swaths of land, chances are that new resources are going to pop up on their turf. This is what happened with shale, so now when all of a sudden a gang of republican cripples happen to own access to all oil and gas in the U.S., they’re getting a representation in MAGA.
MAGA, like its russian counterpart MRGA, which is an offspring from KGB that has its roots in the Pamyat movement, which again has roots in Holodomor,
MAGA is likely to prioritize weaponizing its energy assets by building a private army, much like russia’s army is the army of the KGB oligarchs.
So it is imperative that guns that are used to arm Ukraine be used to arm the Democratic Party. Also, the DP will get reinfircements from abroad. We’ll gladly kill all MAGA just as we do the Russians.
Old Desert Coyote
October 31, 2022 at 8:50 am
Gee whizz my friend I don’t know what you are smoking but I suggest that you better quit it. For your information most oil shale leases are on state or federal owned land. For your information the Federal government and the State own 30% of all acreage in North Dakota. Al most all leases for shale are on Public lands.
AR47WIZARD
October 31, 2022 at 12:10 pm
Good luck with your plan! It’ll be a great day when the DNC and thier ANTIFA goons get the gall to go head to head against MAGA in the streets!
Exnavynuke
October 31, 2022 at 10:41 pm
I wonder if you are even an American. You have the buzzwords down pretty well, but something in how you’re putting them together makes me doubt you’re from my nation.
Thusly, your amateurish attempt to further enroil the currently simmering political sectarian divide in the USA is ultimately doomed to failure; for once EFFECTIVE foreign operatives are understood to be sowing hatred, all that discontent will quickly accrue to the instigators.
And while it’s quite true that the US military is absolutely awful at building nations back up, it has no peer when it comes to smashing them. Just a thought.
Rick
October 30, 2022 at 1:47 pm
The thinnest book in the world is the Russian Code of Military Conduct. On the only page: rape, kill civilians, loot, bomb hospitals and apartment buildings. If an American soldier did that they’d be in Leavenworth, but in russia that get worthless medals. Do russian have any values, morals or character?
Tamerlane
October 31, 2022 at 10:40 am
Stay in Ukraine, troll. We Americans, particularly those of us who have fought for our country, have zero interest in a war over a corrupt proxy state in a shithole part of Europe.
OIF Combat Vet
October 31, 2022 at 10:57 am
We have only Ukraine’s word that the numbers are correct because we don’t have any of our own intel on the ground. That said, Ukraine is a money pit and is bleeding the West aka America dry.
Fred Adams
October 31, 2022 at 1:45 pm
“Friend” should be barred, for his direct threat to kill “all MAGA”. As a MAGA myself, I’m angry and offended by this fool.
Gaba Steve
October 31, 2022 at 2:41 pm
I just came from reading thesaker.is to see the pro-Russian point of view. This reads like the equal-but-opposite set of propaganda. For one, and I could post this to The Saker equally, why have you cited detailed claims of Russian troop losses (according to Russia’s enemies) without citing Russian claims of Ukranian troop losses, or Russian claims of Russian troop losses, or Western claims of Ukranian losses?
As far as I can tell, from reading all sides for months, the Ukranian forces have lost significantly more (50-100% more) men and material than the Russians, but I would believe a close-to-even set of losses.
Your article, meanwhile, is meant only to make us think Russia is losing badly and is the only armed force suffering in the war. As such, it is propaganda, not rational discussion of the war. I would rather read real discussion of the war instead of this.
Biteme
November 1, 2022 at 4:00 am
And the Moskva – flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Now sitting at the bottom of the Black Sea.