130,000 Russians killed in Putin war
Toll to rise in new attack
UKRAINIAN forces have killed almost 130,000 Russian troops since Vladimir Putin invaded almost a year ago, Kyiv has claimed.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s intelligence analysts believe Ukraine’s troops have destroyed 3,215 of Moscow’s tanks, 298 warplanes and 6,388 armoured personnel vehicles.
And air defences in Ukraine have blown as many as 796 cruise missiles out of the sky since the invasion on February 24 last year.
The latest figures were revealed in Ukraine’s daily intelligence bulletins, issued from Kyiv.
But it is feared Putin could be about to send 300,000 recently mobilised recruits to the Ukrainian frontline as cannon-fodder.
Another 500,000 are likely to be processed and ready to be sent to the front within a few months of the war entering its second year.
Ukraine is bracing for Russia to launch a wave of missile attacks and a huge push along the eastern front on the anniversary of the invasion. Moscow’s navy chiefs have so far deployed one warship in the Black Sea, capable of firing cruise missiles at Ukraine.
Yesterday afternoon, air raid sirens blared throughout Ukraine as far west as Ivano-frankivsk amid fears of more missile attacks. On Thursday, two missiles hit the city of Kramatorsk.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said yesterday: “As many as 52 civilian objects have been damaged in Russian strikes in 11 towns and villages in Donetsk Oblast within the past 24 hours.”
The race is on to get hundreds of western tanks with fully trained Ukrainian crews to the front line, including 14 Challenger II’S sent by the UK.
High performance US Patriot air defence missile systems are also believed to be in Ukraine after being supplied by America, but more are desperately needed.
President Zelensky is also lobbying the West to send jets to his air force.