Nearly 6,000 Russian servicemen have lost their lives during the conflict in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry announced.
Speaking on Tuesday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu revealed the updated information, saying that ‘our losses to date are 5,937 dead.’ These are the first official figures on Russian casualties since late March, when the figure stood at 1,351 dead.
Shoigu also claimed that over 60,000 Ukrainian troops had died, and nearly 50,000 had been wounded. ‘Initially, the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to between 201,000 and 202,000 people, and since then they have suffered losses of around 100,000, with 61,207 killed and 49,368 others wounded,’ he said.
The defence ministry also announced the re mobiliization program that will call the reservists back into active service
—300,000 reservists will be called up, which amounts to around 1% of available personnel
— Students will not be affected – only current reservists and those with with required expertise or experience will be recruited, and new conscripts will not be sent to the front line
— Partial mobilization is primarily needed to control the liberated territories and the 1,000km line of contact – the LPR has been liberated and movement into the DPR continues. Parts of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions are also under the control of the Russian Armed Forces
— The conscripted fighters will undergo training or retraining. Then crews, teams, squads and platoons will be assembled, and only then will troops travel to active zones.
On the scale of the conflict, Shoigu stated that Russia is ‘not at war with Ukraine, but with the collective West. The entire NATO constellation is working against us: more than 70 military and 200 civilian satellites. They are all working in the interests of Ukraine.’