٠٠:٠٧:٣٦Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu alleged that Ukraine had lost half of its army and all of its Soviet-era weapons, during an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel, shown on Wednesday.
"At the initial stage the Ukrainian Armed Forces represented about 201,000 to 202,000 people. During that time more than 100,000 losses, with 61,207 dead and 49,368 wounded. These are quite significant losses. So if we talk about 200,000 army this is half of the army lost," he claimed.
According to Shoigu, the Russian army’s losses totalled 5,937.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported 54,810 deaths in Russian army. In addition, Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, commander-in-chief of the AFU, said on August 22 that about 9,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed since the start of the military offensive.
Shoigu went on to say that the current confrontation is not just with Ukraine but with the whole collective West, judging by the weapons being used. He claimed that Ukraine’s stocks of Soviet hardware 'have actually run out', with European allies handing over 'huge quantities'.
"There are what are called high-precision weapons," he said. "We have been surprised that recently they have been trying to conceal the numbers <…> We understand why these things are being hidden from the general public. Because we are seeing more and more, almost every day, strikes against civilians with these weapons," he alleged.
In recent days, Kiev’s Western allies have accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Russia: Ukraine lost half its army and all Soviet weapons - Shoigu
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu alleged that Ukraine had lost half of its army and all of its Soviet-era weapons, during an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel, shown on Wednesday.
"At the initial stage the Ukrainian Armed Forces represented about 201,000 to 202,000 people. During that time more than 100,000 losses, with 61,207 dead and 49,368 wounded. These are quite significant losses. So if we talk about 200,000 army this is half of the army lost," he claimed.
According to Shoigu, the Russian army’s losses totalled 5,937.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported 54,810 deaths in Russian army. In addition, Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, commander-in-chief of the AFU, said on August 22 that about 9,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed since the start of the military offensive.
Shoigu went on to say that the current confrontation is not just with Ukraine but with the whole collective West, judging by the weapons being used. He claimed that Ukraine’s stocks of Soviet hardware 'have actually run out', with European allies handing over 'huge quantities'.
"There are what are called high-precision weapons," he said. "We have been surprised that recently they have been trying to conceal the numbers <…> We understand why these things are being hidden from the general public. Because we are seeing more and more, almost every day, strikes against civilians with these weapons," he alleged.
In recent days, Kiev’s Western allies have accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu alleged that Ukraine had lost half of its army and all of its Soviet-era weapons, during an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel, shown on Wednesday.
"At the initial stage the Ukrainian Armed Forces represented about 201,000 to 202,000 people. During that time more than 100,000 losses, with 61,207 dead and 49,368 wounded. These are quite significant losses. So if we talk about 200,000 army this is half of the army lost," he claimed.
According to Shoigu, the Russian army’s losses totalled 5,937.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported 54,810 deaths in Russian army. In addition, Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, commander-in-chief of the AFU, said on August 22 that about 9,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed since the start of the military offensive.
Shoigu went on to say that the current confrontation is not just with Ukraine but with the whole collective West, judging by the weapons being used. He claimed that Ukraine’s stocks of Soviet hardware 'have actually run out', with European allies handing over 'huge quantities'.
"There are what are called high-precision weapons," he said. "We have been surprised that recently they have been trying to conceal the numbers <…> We understand why these things are being hidden from the general public. Because we are seeing more and more, almost every day, strikes against civilians with these weapons," he alleged.
In recent days, Kiev’s Western allies have accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.