RUSSIA has lost 11,000 troops and 2,000 army vehicle amid claims its forces are being “decimated” by Ukrainian defenders, experts have suggested.
It comes as a second evacuation of civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol begins today after a ceasefire failed to hold on Saturday.
A destroyed Russian aircraft in Chernigiv[/caption]
Ukrainian defenders have been working hard to evacuate civilians[/caption]
Residents of the port town have been sleeping in bomb shelters and have been without food, water and power after Russians troops encircled surrounding areas, authorities say.
Buses are currently on their way to take people along a safe “green” corridor through Portovskoye, Rozovka and Zaporozhye and comes hours after Russia violated a ceasefire agreement on Saturday.
Ukraine and Russia had agreed civilians could make a dash to freedom but moments after the guns fell silent at 9am local time, the routes which the evacuation buses were due to travel along were blitzed by Russian shells.
It comes as Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff said Russia had “got itself into a mess” over the invasion of Ukraine.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme that morale in the Russian forces was low and that the Kremlin had lost more troops in a week than the UK did in 20 years in Afghanistan.
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“We do know that some of the lead elements of Russian forces have been decimated by the Ukrainian response,” he said.
But Sir Tony warned Russia could ramp up its aggressive tactics as forces continue to stall in the battlefield.
“I think there is a real risk because Russia is struggling with its objectives on the ground in Ukraine – and we’ve seen from Russia’s previous actions in Syria and in Chechnya – where it will turn up the violence, it will lead to more indiscriminate killing and more indiscriminate destruction,” he said.
“We have to keep applying the pressure to Russia that this is outrageous and that the sense that because your invasion isn’t going very well, that you just become more and more reckless in applying violence is totally unacceptable.”
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It comes as the Kyiv Independent reports that up to 11,000 Russian troops have died and 2,000 army vehicles have been destroyed since Vladimir Putin‘s forces invaded two weeks ago.
Ukraine claims to have shot down 44 planes and 48 helicopters – as well as blowing up 285 tanks, 985 armoured cars and 60 fuel tankers.
With 11 days having passed since the initial attack, that means that Putin has lost approximate 1,000 men every single day.
Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes are believed to have killed hundreds – maybe thousands – of civilians across Ukraine.
CRASH AND BURN
It comes as Russian pilots were filmed pleading they were “following orders” after being captured and over nine after craft shot down in Ukraine on Saturday.
Video taken of two airmen in the back of a truck shows them being interrogated, with their captors raging: “You are killing our people, you b*****d”.
The pilot pleads he was just “ordered to fly” – and claims he was on a rescue mission.
And another video shows a Russian pilot with blood on his shirt saying he was “not told anything” about his mission.
“Were you blind?” one man rages, with the troops claiming they had maps from his plane showing bombing runs.
His captors then say to him “you were going to bomb civilians” and question him “how many bombing flights did you perform?”.
Russia has seen its invasion met with staunch resistance and also has been blighted by embarrassing logistical failures and supply problems.
And despite having one of the largest air force’s in the world, Putin’s planes seem incapable of securing air superiority over Ukraine.
It comes as:
- Boris Johnson is to present a six-point plan of action to world leaders on how to deal with Putin
- Ukraine claims it has now killed 11,000 Russian soldiers as yesterday nine of Putin’s aircraft were shot down
- Putin issued a direct threat to the UK as he raged at sanctions “akin to a declaration of war”
- SAS and US commandos are reportedly training for a rescue mission to save President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia dealing Putin another major blow
- Cancer-stricken kids are trapped in war-torn Ukraine – as doctors tell them the bombs are just fireworks
- Heartbreaking pictures show the extent of Ukraine’s refugee crisis – with 1.5million fleeing for their lives
- British firms helping Putin’s henchmen must face the full force of the law, said David Davis MP
Yesterday saw one of the most striking videos of the war released as a Russian “Hind” helicopter was blasted out of the sky by a stinger missile.
Investigative journalism group Bellingcat geolocated the footage to Kozarovychi in the Kyiv Oblast – around 25 miles from the capital.
Users on social media suggest the helicopter could be a Mil Mi-24 Hind gunship, which was in use by Soviet forces from 1972 and dubbed the “flying tank”.
It was the beginning of a flurry of losses for the Russians – with reports of five warplanes and choppers being shot down.
Two MI-8 and two MI-35 helicopters are believed to have been downed, along with warplanes including two Su-34s, two Su-25s and one Su-30SM.
Separate clips show Ukrainians cheering and applauding as they appear to shoot down two Russian aircraft in the Chernihiv and Mykolaiv oblasts.
The clip from Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, shows two pilots parachuting out.
The missile streaks in to strike a Russian helicopter[/caption]
It hits the Hind with an explosion[/caption]
One died, while the other survived, it’s claimed.
The surviving soldier is seen in a blood-stained t-shirt with a bandage wrapped around his head.
The soldiers get their captive to say “glory to Ukraine” before asking: “Why are you bombing people?”
It’s believed his aircraft was a Sukhoi Su-34 – a fighter-bomber which had also been used in Syria.
In a separate film, a captured pilot in an orange jumpsuit is seen bloodied and on his knees as he’s questioned by Ukrainian fighters in Mykolaiv.
Tinpot tyrant Putin has faced a punishing battle at the hands of the Ukrainians.
Ministry of Defence officials this morning said the “scale and strength” of the resistance continues to surprise Russia.
And it warned that Putin be deliberately targeting populated areas to break the morale of Kyiv – comparing it to campaigns in Chechnya and Syria.
‘COMPELLED TO ACT’
Meanwhile, the US is working with poland on the possibility of supplying warplanes for Ukraine’s fightback, a White House spokesperson has confirmed.
Ukrainian pilots currently train on Russian-made jets.
President Joe Biden is considering finding replacements for any fighter jets poland might send from its fleet to Ukraine, the spokesperson said.
But Putin has raged that Western sanctions against his regime are like a “declaration of war”.
And he also warned that anyone who attempts to enforce a no fly zone over Ukraine will be considered to have entered the conflict.
Russia also issued a direct threat to Britain tonight saying it “will not forget” support for Ukraine and warning of “tough retaliation”.
And VISA and Mastercard have announced they are suspending operations in Russia in what’s seen as a massive blow to the country’s economy.
The move will see credit and debit cards issued by Russian banks null and void outside the country.
This means Russian businesses and cash machines will no longer be able to accept cards issued abroad.
Both companies process a staggering 90 percent of all debit and credit card payments outside of China, making the move another devastating blow for Kremlin tyrant Vladimir Putin.
The conflict has so far caused 1.45 million people to Ukraine since the invasion began ten days ago, according to the U.N.-affiliated Organization for Migration in Geneva.
It predicted the total number of refugees could swell to 4 million, to become the biggest such crisis this century.
Most have arrived in poland and other neighbouring European Union countries, with the bloc granting people fleeing Ukraine temporary protection and residency permits.
Some are starting to make their way to countries further afield.
More than 100,000 have reached Slovakia, with many planning to continue to Czech Republic.
Hundreds arrive daily by train in the German capital, Berlin and further away in Italy, 10,000 refugees have arrived, 40 percent of them children.
A captured Russian pilot identifies himself as Commander Alexey Sergeevich[/caption]
Refugees from Ukraine rest at a temporary shelter in the main train station of Krakow, Poland[/caption]
Civilians fleeing across a blown-up bridge on the outskirts of Kyiv[/caption]
Category: News, World News, Ukraine war
