Ukraine Says More Than 33K Russian Soldiers Killed So Far

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced, on Sunday, that about 33,600 Russian soldiers and officers have been killed since the start of the Russian military operation on February 24.

In a statement, the general staff said that 1,468 tanks, 3,577 armored combat vehicles, 745 artillery systems, 181 helicopters, 598 drones, and 130 cruise missiles have been destroyed by Ukrainian forces.

Moreover, it pointed out that 2,523 vehicles, fuel tanks, and 14 warships, in addition to 55 units of special equipment have been also destroyed, noting that the Russian forces incurred, during the past day, the largest losses near the cities of "Bakhmut" and "Zaporizhzhia".

The Ukrainian defenders reportedly forced the Russian forces to retreat in the Toshkivka region and repelled the attack near Orekhov, Zoloty, and Pervomaisk cities.

It is worth mentioning that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict reached a new turning point on February 21st, after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics of Ukraine, as an escalatory step that drew great anger from Kyiv and its Western allies.

In the wake of this, the Russian forces began, at dawn on Thursday, February 24th, to launch a military operation in eastern Ukraine, which opened the door to the possibility of the outbreak of a “third world war”, which would be the first in the twenty-first century.