Paul
Goble
Staunton, July 4 – There is no
“Ukrainian crisis,” as so many in Moscow and the West continue to say; there is
instead an all too real Russian war in and against Ukraine, one that Kyiv is fighting
against. And Ukraine’s First Deputy
Defense Minister Ivan Rusnak this week provided new numbers that demonstrate
that tragic reality beyond any reasonable doubt.
Speaking to a meeting in Kyiv today,
Rusnak described the Russian invasion and occupation forces, the losses human
and otherwise they have imposed on his country, and the burden the Ukrainian
people have been forced to bear in opposing what Moscow has done and is doing
in Ukraine:
- A massive Russian invasion and occupation force. There are more than 60,000 Russian troops in Ukraine and along the Russian Ukrainian border, outfitted with modern weapons, and officered almost exclusively at the top by Russian cadres officers and generals (unian.ua/war/2009086-u-minoboroni-nazvali-chiselnist-rosiyskih-viysk-na-kordoni-z-ukrajinoyu-ta-na-donbasi.html).
- 2700 Ukrainians Killed and More than 10,000 Wounded. Ukraine has suffered massive human losses as Russian forces have killed more than 2700 Ukrainian fighters and citizens and wounded more than 10,000 in addition (unn.com.ua/ru/news/1674205-za-chas-ato-zaginuli-bilshe-2-7-tis-viyskovikh-ta-ponad-10-tis-poraneni-minoboroni).
- 50 Billion US Dollars in Property Losses. Rusnak says that preliminary assessments suggest that “in the east of Ukraine,” Russian acitons have destroyed “objects of energy, transportation and social infrastructure” worth about 50 billion US dollars (economics.unian.ua/finance/2009076-blizko-50-milyardiv-u-minoboroni-pidrahuvali-sumu-zbitkiv-vid-ruynuvannya-infrastrukturi-na-donbasi-cherez-agresiyu-rf.html).
- An Ever-Increasing Defense Burden on Ukraine. This year, the deputy minister says, Ukraine spent 64 billion grivna (2.46 billion US dollars) and plans to spend even more next, 74 billion grivna (2.85 billion US dollars)
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