Ukraine claims 36,500 Russian troops killed since onset of war; 'biggest loss in Donetsk'

As the Russian military offensive against Ukraine entered the 133rd day on Wednesday, July 6, Moscow has lost an estimated 36,500 troops and 1,600 war tanks ever since the onset of the invasion, according to data shared by the Ukrainian Army's General Staff on its social media account.

According to the latest update, the war-torn country claimed the Russian forces suffered the biggest losses in the Slavic and Donetsk directions. However, it did not provide additional details on how many soldiers were actually killed in the industrial city in eastern Ukraine. Losses incurred by the Russia forces from February 24 to July 6, as per Ukraine, are as follows:

• Russian troops: 36,500 
• Russian tanks: 1,600
• Combat armoured vehicles: 3,789 
• Artillery systems 812 
• MLR systems: 247 
• Anti-aircraft warfare: 107 
• Warplanes: 217 
• Helicopters: 187
• Vehicles: 2,648 
• Vessels: 15
• Fuel tank trucks: 153 

Check full details here:

Donetsk Governor urges evacuation of more than three lakh residents

Though the Ukraine armed forces claimed it has achieved huge success in the Donetsk region, the regional governor said that the Russian forces escalated their offensive in the region on Tuesday. In fact, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko urged to evacuate more than 3,50,000 troops from the region. According to him, the evacuation is crucial as it would enable the Ukrainian army to better defend towns from the Russian advance. While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he said the destiny of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region and added if there were less number of people in the region, it would be easy for the Ukrainian soldiers to concentrate on the operation.

According to the governor, Putin's forces are now targetting essential infrastructures in Kramatorsk including buildings that are responsible for the supply of water. He described the shelling as very chaotic as the aggressor started destroying civilian infrastructure and residential areas.

Zelenskyy says Putin may use Ukraine as centre to attack other European nations

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy underscored that Russia could use his country as the centre to target other European nations and appealed to the countries for cooperation in order to avert such a situation in the near future. While speaking at the opening of the 26th Annual Economist Government Roundtable on July 5, Zelenskyy emphasised regional security to secure the whole of Europe from Russian aggression. According to Zelenskyy, no one can rule out the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin planning to attack some other European countries.

(Image: AP)