Ukraine Belatedly Admits ‘Heavy Casualty Rate’ In Appeal For More Weapons From West

Ukraine’s government has thus far kept its military death toll a tightly guarded secret, now four months into the conflict, even as heavy international scrutiny has focused on Russian losses amid prior widespread speculation and assertions that Russia was “losing”.

However, there’s been a noticeable shift in Western media and among the national security pundit class over the past weeks as Russian forces begin to solidify hold over nearly all the Donbas, and as the final Luhansk holdout city of Severodonetsk’s fall looks imminent.

With this backdrop, Mykhaylo Podolyak – a senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – admitted Thursday that Ukraine is losing between 100 and 200 troops per day amid the Russian onslaught. The figure is significantly revised upward compared to President Zelensky only last week offering a loss estimate of between 60 and 100 troops each day.

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Separately, but right on message, Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence has said Ukraine is “losing against Russia on the frontlines and is now almost solely reliant on weapons from the west to keep Russia at bay,” as cited in The Guardian.

“This is an artillery war now,” said deputy head of military intelligence Vadym Skibitsky. He said in terms of ongoing frontline fighting which he dubbed “where the future would be decided,” the reality is “we are losing in terms of artillery.”

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