The Russian army has for the first time acknowledged human losses during its invasion of Ukraine, without giving figures.
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“The Russian military demonstrates courage in carrying out their combat missions (…). Unfortunately, there are dead and injured. But our losses are much less” than in the Ukrainian camp, said Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
The Kremlin is regularly accused by its opponents of ignoring the death of Russian soldiers killed in combat so as not to attract the wrath of public opinion still traumatized by very deadly conflicts, particularly in Afghanistan in the 1980s, then in Chechnya in the 1990s and 2000s.
The government and the power-controlled Russian media are presenting the ongoing invasion of Ukraine as a military “operation” confined to Donbass (east), while fighting is taking place from south to north, including Kiev.
On Saturday, Ukraine claimed that at least 198 civilians had been killed since the start of the Russian invasion. Kiev also said to have killed several thousand Russian soldiers, an unverifiable assertion from an independent source.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched by Vladimir Putin on Thursday, sparked international outcry and sanctions against Moscow.