The war in Ukraine has reached day 343. The situation on the ground remains fairly similar, with heavy fighting taking place in the Donbas. The Russian military continues to lose men, while Ukraine is getting more weapons.
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The Russian Casualties in Ukraine
This week alone, Russian forces have lost almost 3,000 men.
Overall, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that as of Wednesday, Ukrainian forces have killed approximately 128,420 Russian troops (and wounded approximately twice to thrice that number).
They also claim they have destroyed 293 fighter, attack, bomber, and transport jets; 284 attack and transport helicopters; 3,209 tanks; 2,207 artillery pieces; 6,382 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles; 458 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems; 18 boats and cutters; 5,061 vehicles and fuel tanks; 221 anti-aircraft batteries; 1,951 tactical unmanned aerial systems; 200 special equipment platforms, such as bridging vehicles, as well as four mobile Iskander ballistic missile systems; and 796 cruise missiles shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses.
Weapons, Weapons, and More Weapons
Western countries continue to make pledges for security aid to Ukraine. As of Wednesday, several countries, including the U.S., Germany, the UK, Poland, and Canada have committed approximately 140 main battle tanks to Ukraine.
However, that number is well off the 300-tank target the Ukrainian government set as necessary to make a significant impact on the battlefield.
Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin their training on the Challenger 2 tank. London was the first to announce the delivery of main battle tanks to Ukraine and continues to be the biggest supporter of Ukraine in terms of military aid behind the U.S. In Eastern Europe, Poland, another key country in the campaign to support Ukraine, aims to reduce the training time of Ukrainians tanks crews for the Leopard 2 tank to just five weeks.
Meanwhile, Australia and France made up after the scrapping of a deal on submarines and are now planning to jointly provide Ukraine with tens of thousands of artillery shells.
Moreover, Paris will supply an additional 12 Caesar 155mm self-propelled howitzers to the Ukrainian military.
In addition, the U.S. might be preparing to send another package of security aid to Ukraine, which this time would include longer-range missiles, according to Reuters.
The Ukrainians have been asking for munitions that can reach beyond the 90-odd miles that current systems can reach.
Same Maximalist Goals in Ukraine
In a press conference earlier this week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there are no indications that the war will end anytime soon.
Moscow isn’t preparing to negotiate, and Kyiv would not either, since it is winning on the ground.
The NATO chief added that the Kremlin may mobilize an additional 200,000 men (the Russian military has already created a reserve of 150,000 troops for upcoming offensives), and it is continues to buy weapons from Iran and North Korea.
Despite almost a year of war with no concrete successes, Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains his maximalist goals of toppling the Ukrainian government and absorbing large swaths of the country into Russia.
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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. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
