Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry: 627 Russian troops killed and 2155 wounded in Ukraine over January-September 2015

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Kyiv, February 5, 2016. The number of Russian troops killed in temporary occupied territories of Donbas is currently increasing. Since the beginning of 2016 alone 42 Russian military have been killed. Over January-September 2015 a total of 627 killed and 2155 wounded troops of the Russian Federation Armed Forces were identified, said Vadym Skibitskyi, representative of the Main Intelligence Department at Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

Skibitskyi named some of the reasons that are causing death of Russian troops in Donbas. They take part in subversive activities and are being eliminated by Ukrainian troops; engage in conflicts with each other with the use of weapons; hit explosive devices on mine fields installed by other militant groups. “Analysis shows that after the rotation the number of killed Russian troops is increasing. They do not know the combat area well enough and get blown on tripwires and mines installed by their predecessors,” explained Skibitskyi.

The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate noted that special operation units of the Russian Main Intelligence Department are instigating provocative acts against the so-called 1st and 2nd militant army corps. In such a way they provoke militants to fire upon Ukrainian troops.

According to Skibitskyi the number of the Russian troops killed in Donbas is actually much higher. “We will be trying to identify all Russian troops who were killed on our territory. We intend to pass this information to their families and get a reaction to this,” reassured Skibitskyi.