The number of Russian forces involved in the war against Ukraine is decreasing by 8–10 thousand troops per month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported.
“Minus 8–10 thousand on average per month from their army, their contingent that is in Ukraine fighting against Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an interview with AFP on Friday, the full version of which was published on YouTube.
According to him, Russia mobilizes 40–44 thousand servicemen each month but irreversibly loses 30–35 thousand on the battlefield due to deaths and severe injuries.
“This does not mean they have a net gain of 10 thousand, because out of the 40 thousand there are replacements, they have their reserve units – basically, we have our reserves too, and they have theirs, and not all 43 thousand reach the frontline. What we see now is minus 10 thousand,” the president explained.
Zelensky added that increasing the destruction of Russian personnel will also affect their advance.
“Today, as we measured, one kilometer costs 157 Russian killed and seriously wounded. That’s roughly their pace of advance,” he said.
When asked whether it is possible to predict when the aggressor’s advance can be stopped, Zelensky said it
“depends directly on the military and also on strengthening drone forces; it heavily depends on training additional operators – we are working on that and expanding it. It also strongly depends on the training and preparedness of the Russians and the number of aggressors eliminated.”
He emphasized that daily work is ongoing to halt Russian advances.
“We see that in Kupiansk it has been achieved. I cannot tell you how final it is, but nonetheless, we control the city. There is success of the Armed Forces and the National Guard, all forces. It has been achieved there today… We have worked very well in the Sumy direction. Today we see no possibility for Russian advancement there. We are working and doing everything to ensure that in Chernihiv, in the Chernihiv direction, there are also no threats,” Zelensky said.
