Ukraine war: Russia confirms death of general

Day 648: Ukraine appears to have attacked a fuel depot in Luhansk. The number of Russians who died in the war is estimated at 70,000. All information in the news blog.

12.45 p.m.: The White House has warned that US military aid to Ukraine will expire by the end of the year if there is still no agreement on this support in Congress in Washington. In a letter released Monday to House Republican leader Mike Johnson, White House Budget Office Director Shalanda Young wrote that without this support, Ukraine would be “crippled on the battlefield.”

Young warned that the issue cannot be postponed until next year: “The time to help democratic Ukraine fight Russian aggression is now. It is time for Congress to act.”

The dispute in the US Congress over new funding for aid to Ukraine has been dragging on for months. Among the opposition Republicans, who are in the majority in the House of Representatives, there is some resistance to new aid for the country fighting the Russian invasion.

12:03 p.m.: According to British estimates, around 70,000 Russians have been killed in the war of aggression against Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense said these were 50,000 regular soldiers and 20,000 members of the Wagner private army. The number of wounded between the start of the war on February 24, 2022 and the end of November 2023 is estimated in London at 180,000 to 240,000 soldiers and 40,000 Wagner fighters.

“This gives an estimated range of 290,000 to 350,000 total casualties among Russian combatants. The midpoint of the estimate is a total of 320,000 Russian casualties,” it continued. Exact information is difficult. Even in Russia, the total number of dead and wounded is probably not known because there is an established culture of dishonest reporting within the military. The authority does not provide any information about Ukrainian losses.

12 o’clock: Russian authorities have officially confirmed the death of another Russian army general in Ukraine. “The deputy commander of the 14th Army Corps of the Northern Fleet, Major General Vladimir Zavadsky, died during combat operations in the area of ​​special military operations,” said the Governor of the Voronezh Region, Alexander Gusev, on his Telegram channel. Russian authorities have described the war of aggression against Ukraine since February 24, 2022 as a “special operation”.

Ukrainian media had already reported on the death of the senior officer last week. In the letter of condolence, Gusev speaks of a “serious loss.” The general led the Kantemirov 4th Guards Tank Division until August 2021, with which the Voronezh region traditionally has good relations.

Sawadski was therefore 45 years old. Before the obituary for Zawadski, the Russian military had confirmed the deaths of a total of six generals in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian information, however, at least twelve Russian generals died in the war of aggression unleashed by Moscow.

10.40 a.m.: The arms company Rheinmetall has received a major order for the delivery of artillery ammunition to Ukraine worth 142 million euros. The order includes a five-digit number of artillery shells with a caliber of 155 millimeters. The company announced on Monday in Düsseldorf that the client was a NATO partner state. This country’s declared concern is to “support Ukraine’s defense campaign effectively and permanently.” The bullets are to be manufactured at the subsidiary Rheinmetall Expal Munitions in Spain. They are scheduled to be delivered in 2025.

9.20 a.m.: According to a report by the Russian news agency RIA, Ukrainian troops attacked an oil depot in Russian-occupied Luhansk with drones. The agency cites the authorities installed by Russia in the occupied eastern Ukrainian region. A fire that broke out after the drone attack was put out again. There are no reports of possible victims. Russia partially occupied Luhansk, as well as the Donetsk region, also in the east, as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south of Ukraine, and annexed it in September 2022. The annexation is not internationally recognized.