‘15,000 Russians dead’ as UK vows to send more military vehicles

Rising troop deaths and loss of equipment back belief that Moscow can be defeated on battlefield

SOME 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in the two months since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, the defence secretary said yesterday.

Ben Wallace also told MPS more than 2,000 of Russia’s armoured vehicles have either been destroyed or captured as he outlined further UK support to Ukraine to help defend its territory.

With Russia switching its attention to the Donbas region in the south east, Mr Wallace said Britain would supply Ukraine with armoured vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft missiles.

He told the House of Commons that Stormer armoured vehicles will carry Starstreak missiles, a shoulderlaunched version of which was supplied to Ukraine earlier this month.

“In response to indiscriminate bombing from the air and escalation by President Putin’s forces, on March 9 I announced the UK would supply Starstreak high-velocity and low-velocity anti-air missiles.

“I am able to now report to the House that these have been in theatre for over three weeks and have been deployed and used by Ukrainian forces to defend their territory,” Mr Wallace said.

“As we can see from Ukrainians’ requests, more still needs to be done.

“So for that reason I can now announce to the House that we shall be gifting a small number of armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for those anti-air missiles.

“The Stormer vehicles will give Ukrainian forces enhanced, shortrange anti-air capabilities.”

The Alvis Stormer is a lightly armoured, tracked vehicle that came into service with the British army in the 1970s. It can engage ground targets, lay mines or retrieve disabled vehicles.

The version to be supplied to Ukraine is effectively a mobile anti-aircraft platform with a Starstreak battery mounted on the roof. It will grant the Ukrainians greater mobility to respond to aerial threats as the battle in the open landscape of Donbas escalates.

The provision of vehicles reflects a growing belief that Russia can be defeated on the battlefield.

“Alongside the death toll are the equipment losses. Sources suggest that to date over 2,000 armoured vehicles have been destroyed or captured,” added Mr Wallace.

“This includes at least 530 tanks, 530 armoured personnel carriers and 560 infantry fighting vehicles. Russia has also lost more than 60 helicopters and fighter jets.”

He said Russia deployed more than 120 battalion tactical groups, or around 65 per cent of its ground forces, to the war. About 25 per cent of them had been rendered “combat ineffective” during the last two months of combat.

Starstreak missiles accelerate to Mach 4 after launch, making them the fastest of their type in the world.

However, they are short range and can only engage relatively low-altitude targets like Russia’s KA-52 helicopters and SU-25 ground-attack jets.

Boris Johnson separately announced more than 40 fire engines and 22 ambulances will be sent to Ukraine to help the country’s emergency services.

Some £300,000 will also be given to medical aid charity UK-MED to help train Ukrainian doctors, nurses and paramedics deal with mass casualties.

The Prime Minister said Britain had been “appalled” by the targeting of hospitals by Russian troops.

Other items donated include rescue equipment, thermal imaging cameras for finding victims, around 300 fire hoses and 10,000 items of protective equipment.