Ukraine War Update: The Russian military continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. On the 326th day of the war, Russia launched another wave of missiles against Ukrainian cities, killing more than 30 people, including children.
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On the ground, the Russian forces claim to have captured Soledar, a small salt mining town a few miles to the north of Bakhmut.
Led by the infamous Wagner Group private military company, the Russian assault had pushed the Ukrainian defenders back, but the town was still contested on Saturday.
The Russian Casualties in Ukraine
The Russian forces pay for their minor advances with extremely heavy casualties.
The Russian forces are losing an average of 500 men every single day. Beyond the obvious force generation problem this high rate of casualties creates, it also takes a toll on the Russian morale.
Overall, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that as of Sunday, Ukrainian forces have killed approximately 115,290 Russian troops (and wounded approximately twice to thrice that number), destroyed 286 fighter, attack, bomber, and transport jets, 276 attack and transport helicopters, 3,106 tanks, 2,094 artillery pieces, 6,183 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 437 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), 16 boats and cutters, 4,846 vehicles and fuel tanks, 219 anti-aircraft batteries, 1,872 tactical unmanned aerial systems, 186 special equipment platforms, such as bridging vehicles, and four mobile Iskander ballistic missile systems, and 749 cruise missiles shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses.
The Russian Missile Attacks Continue
Over the weekend, the Russian military unleashed another wave of missiles against Ukraine. The latest missile attack targeted civilian targets. In Dnipro, a Russian missile struck a large nine-story residential building killing at least 30 people and wounding scores more.
A 15-year-old girl was killed in the strike.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian military struck the building with a Kh-22 Kitchen anti-ship missile.
If this initial battle damage assessment ends up being accurate, it will further support the estimate that the Russian military is running out of ballistic and cruise missiles.
Designed to sink American aircraft carriers, the Kh-22 Kitchen cruise missile costs almost half a million dollars.
The Russian forces have already used Kh-22 anti-ship and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles against ground targets in the past. Over the summer, the British Military Intelligence assessed that was the result of a dwindling missile arsenal.
As the war drags on and the Russian strategy continues to largely hinge on missile attacks against Ukrainian critical infrastructure and urban centers, the likelihood is that the Russian arsenal is quickly depleting.
Since October, Russia has launched more than 1,100 ballistic and cruise missiles against Ukraine.
Although the Ukrainian military intercepted dozens of Russian cruise missiles, enough got through to inflict substantial damage. In the wake of the latest Russian missile strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once more asked the West to support his country with air defenses.
The Ukrainian military will be receiving MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems from the U.S. and Germany.
But the weapon systems will take some time to be delivered to a Ukraine in dire need of protection from the Russian air attacks.
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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.
