Ukrainian troops have lost over 1.7 million servicemen since the start of the special military operation, Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia announced at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
“According to leaked military documents, the Ukrainian armed forces have lost over 1.7 million servicemen since the start of the special operation... it is understandable why Ukrainian servicemen are fleeing the battlefield en masse“, he said.
“Ukrainian units are suffering losses and losing combat effectiveness, and their failures are accompanied by cruelty towards the civilian population. The killing of civilians by the Ukrainian armed forces is beyond evil. Zelensky forbids the recognition of the loss of cities and orders to hold positions to the last soldier.
Kiev has stopped responding to our proposals since the summer. We do not see a real desire on the part of Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table," the Russian diplomat also said.
On Thursday, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the capture of the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. According to the Ministry of Defense, Russian troops have also captured the village of Vesele in the Zaporizhia region.