Ukraine's Defense Minister Admits Heavy Losses to Armed Forces
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the country's armed forces had suffered heavy losses in the conflict with Russia.
According to Mr. Reznikov, the Ukrainian armed forces need to be upgraded, having suffered heavy losses in the conflict and needing more weapons as frontline weapons are almost depleted. Ukraine “wants more armored vehicles, drones and weapons from Western partners.”
The Ukrainian Defense Minister stressed that short-range missile systems are no longer on the priority equipment list of the Ukrainian armed forces, instead, Ukraine currently needs long-range missile systems.
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Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. Photo: Kyiv Post |
After Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, the US and its NATO allies increased the supply of weapons to Ukraine to serve combat operations. Notably, on May 21, US President Joe Biden signed a bill to provide military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine worth about 40 billion USD.
Russia has repeatedly accused the West of wanting to prolong the Russia-Ukraine conflict by increasing the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces. The Russian Defense Ministry has also warned that Western arms shipments to Ukraine could become legitimate targets for the Russian armed forces.
Analysts say that after Russia gained a big advantage in the Donbass region, Defense Minister Reznikov's move to acknowledge heavy losses is aimed at calling on the West to provide more weapons to Ukraine./.
