Ukrainian losses almost 500,000 this year – Russian MOD
Ukraine has lost almost 500,000 servicemen this year alone, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov has said.
Speaking at a Defense Ministry Board meeting attended by President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Belousov said Ukraine’s combat capability had been reduced by about a third over the past year, stripping Kiev of the ability to replenish its forces through forced mobilization of civilians.
“Ukraine’s forces have lost nearly 500,000 servicemen, as a result of which Kiev has lost the ability to replenish its groupings through the compulsory mobilization of civilians,” Belousov said.
According to the minister, Ukraine has lost more than 103,000 weapons and pieces of military equipment this year, including about 5,500 of Western manufacture – almost double the total recorded the previous year.
Ukraine announced general mobilization shortly after the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, barring men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Last year, it lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 while tightening mobilization rules.
The forced conscription campaign has triggered repeated violent clashes between reluctant recruits and draft officers.
Kiev’s recruitment drive has grown increasingly brutal as Ukrainian forces confront setbacks and manpower shortages. Hundreds of incidents have been documented online in which enlistment officers assaulted potential conscripts, chased them through the streets, and threatened bystanders who tried to intervene.
Even with increasingly harsh measures, Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders have complained that the mobilization campaign is falling short of targets, contributing to the continuous Russian advance.
