Ukraine withstands winter, inflicts fifth defeat on Russia, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister says
On the first spring day, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba underscored Ukraine’s resilience in the face of Russia’s energy terror throughout winter. “On March 1, 2023, Putin suffered his fifth major defeat since the day of the full-scale invasion – Ukraine defeated his winter terror. We have withstood the toughest winter in our history. We were cold and dark, but we were adamant,” Kuleba said in a Facebook post.
“Our partners stood with us shoulder to shoulder, offering their help. Despite Moscow’s horse laugh, the EU has also won, not freezing without Russian gas. One piece of advice to Russia: suffocate with your gas and choke on your missiles. That’s the fifth defeat.”
“The first defeat was when we did not allow Putin to paralyze us with fear from the first minutes of the offensive. The second was when we thwarted the Russian blitzkrieg plan. Ukraine fell neither in three days nor in seven, nor in a month, nor in a year. And will never fall.”
“We inflicted the third defeat on Russia on the diplomatic front: the world coalition for Ukraine, resolutions, isolation, flows of weapons, sanctions, and energy, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The fourth defeat is Russia’s loss of a large part of the occupied territories of Ukraine as a result of the effective actions and counterattacks by Ukraine’s Armed Forces and the rest of the Defense Forces.”
“There is still a hard way to go until our ultimate victory. But we already know how to win. We have to work for it every day and believe in Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said.
Russia’s defense ministry denounces “massive drone attack” on Crimea
Russia’s defense ministry claims its forces have repelled “a massive drone attack” on Crimea carried out by Ukrainian forces overnight into Wednesday, March 1.
“Six Ukrainian attack drones were shot down by air defense systems. Four more were disabled by electronic warfare,” the defense ministry added. Russian news agencies say there were no casualties or destructions as a result of the incident. Explosions rocked the area near Yevpatoria and Chornomorske in Crimea, Telegram channels earlier reported.
Russia’s losses in Ukraine exceed those in all of its wars since World War II combined
Russia suffered more combat deaths in Ukraine in the first year of the war than in all of its wars since World War II combined, according to a new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The average rate of Russian soldiers killed per month is at least 25 times the number killed per month in Chechnya and 35 times the number killed in Afghanistan. Russia suffered an average of roughly 5,000 to 5,800 soldiers killed per month in Ukraine over the first year of the war. In comparison, Russia suffered an average of between 95 and 185 soldiers killed per month in Chechnya over a 15-year period.
According to CSIS estimates, there have been approximately 60,000 to 70,000 Russian combat fatalities in Ukraine between February 2022 and February 2023. These estimates include regular Russian soldiers from the Russian armed forces, Rosgvardiya, Federal Security Service, and Federal Guard Service; fighters from pro-Russian militias, such as the Donetsk People’s Militia and Luhansk People’s Militia; and contractors from such private military companies as the Wagner Group.
Overall, Russia has suffered roughly 200,000 to 250,000 total casualties—personnel wounded, killed, and missing. The Russian forces have lost lost approximately 50 percent of their modern T-72B3 and T-72B3M main battle tanks since the war began, along with roughly two-thirds of their T-80BV/U tanks.
Sweden – Ukraine: tradition of cooperation and support. Ukraine in Flames #356
Sweden has been a longstanding and sustainable partner to Ukraine for years, sharing several chapters of common history and cooperation. Since russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden has broken its policy of neutrality that involved non-participation in any wars and an avoidance of alliances and sided with Ukraine, providing not only humanitarian, but significant military aid. Watch Ukraine in flames #356 to find out about historical roots of support and cooperation between Ukraine and Sweden and the unprecedented military aid packages that ended Swedish neutrality of 200 years.
Guests:
- Marina Trattner, Independent Researcher, Editor of the book “Treasures of Swedish Archives”
- Yuliya Yurchuk, Lecturer of History, Södertörn University, Sweden
- Svitlana Odynets, Ph.D in Ethnology, Migration Specialist, Research Fellow at University of Gothenburg, Sweden
