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Zelenskyy Says Russian Offensive Push Backfires With 8,000 Casualties in a Week

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
News Writer
The graves of those killed in Ukraine, at the military site of the Southern Cemetery, located on the southern outskirts of St. Petersburg, on September 21, 2023. (Source: Getty Images)
The graves of those killed in Ukraine, at the military site of the Southern Cemetery, located on the southern outskirts of St. Petersburg, on September 21, 2023. (Source: Getty Images)

Russian forces attempted to intensify offensive operations over the past week, but those efforts resulted primarily in heavier losses, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on March 22.

Speaking after a meeting with Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Andrii Hnatov, Zelenskyy said Russia’s recent attacks had come at a high cost.

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“The only tangible result for the Russian army has been an increase in their losses—just over the past seven days, more than 8,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or seriously wounded,” Zelenskyy said.

According to the president, Russian command has also begun reassessing the real situation on the battlefield, which appears to differ from reports previously submitted up the chain of command.

“Some of their brigade-level commanders have already been replaced as punishment for false reporting. However, this will not help the occupier,” he added.

Zelenskyy said the overall frontline situation in the Donetsk region remained largely unchanged over the past week. At the same time, Russian forces have attempted to advance in parts of the Kharkiv region and along border areas of the Sumy region, where Ukrainian troops continue to engage and destroy attacking units.

He also noted ongoing active operations by Ukrainian assault and airborne units in the Oleksandrivka direction.

“Separately, we noted the precision of our deep strikes and outlined further plans. I approved a number of new operations,” Zelenskyy said.

Earlier, Ukrainian engineering troops and support forces reported significant results from their operations throughout February.

Data shows that 678 Russian soldiers were eliminated on engineering barriers set by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in February. In addition to the personnel losses, the operations destroyed 120 units of weapons and military equipment and 19 additional military targets.

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