Vladimir Putin is suffering “very serious losses’ in eastern Ukraine, a Kyiv defence official has said – with a separate report suggesting more than 2,000 Russian tanks have been destroyed. The Russian President is mustering forces in preparation for an anticipated fresh offensive, with fierce fighting centred on the strategically important town of Bakhmut.
However, posting on Telegram, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defence secretary, posted: “The enemy’s offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks. The situation is tense. Yes, it is difficult for us.
“But our fighters are not allowing the enemy to achieve their goals and are inflicting very serious losses.”
Meanwhile a report published by the US-based International Institute for Strategic Studies claimed Russia has lost more than 2,000 tanks since the start of the war on February 24, 2022.
Estimates suggest 50 percent of modern tanks such as the T-72B3 and T-72B3M may have been destroyed, and two-thirds of older T-80BV/U tanks.
Henry Boyd, research fellow at the IISS, suggested a minimum of 1,700 Russian tanks had been destroyed, adding: “I would suspect the actual figure is somewhere between 20 percent and 40 percent higher than that” – in other words, between 2,000 and 2,300.
