Russia suffered 421,000 casualties in 2024, 'highest price' since start of invasion, Syrskyi says
Russia has lost 421,000 troops in Ukraine in 2024, the "highest price since the start of the invasion," Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Telegram post on Dec. 28.
The figure includes both dead and wounded and is part of the total losses of approximately 785,000 Russian troops since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022.
Syrskyi, reporting on the outcomes of a meeting regarding the Armed Forces' activities, said that the Ukrainian military was "maintaining control over strategically important areas, securing the western part of the Black Sea, and weakening the enemy's military and industrial potential."
He also said that the Armed Forces also established the Unmanned Systems Forces in 2024, which are "necessary in the conditions of modern technological warfare."
This branch is the first in the world to use unmanned aerial, surface, subsurface, and ground systems, as well as robotics, in combat operations.
Syrskyi said that compared to 2023, the volume of deliveries of unmanned systems to Ukrainian units increased 19 times, and the number of enemy targets hit and destroyed increased 3.7 times.
He also said that Ukraine has reduced Russia's military potential through "DeepStrike means."
DeepStrike, a long-range strike strategy, gained traction in 2024 when U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the use of U.S.-made ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Nov. 17, closely followed by the first use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles.
Since then, Kyiv has intensified its campaign of strikes on Russian territory, targeting military and industrial facilities to weaken Russia's war effort in Ukraine.
Syrskyi also said that a decision had been made to extend the terms of basic training of mobilized personnel.
Such a decision was announced on Dec. 27, when Syrskyi himself said that Ukraine's military leadership planned to extend basic military training to two months in order to "increase the readiness and safety of soldiers.
The initiative followed consultations with the General Staff, branch commanders, and heads of individual combat units and is aimed at improving the effectiveness of the Ukrainian armed forces as they continue to face intense hostilities.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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