Russia ‘Getting Desperate’ After Suffering Heavy Casualties
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LONDON/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says Russia is getting “desperate” as its forces take heavy casualties in Ukraine, including generals and other senior officers.
He spoke as news emerged that Russian Maj Gen Vitaly Gerasimov, chief of staff of the 41st Army, was killed in fighting around Kharkiv and other senior officers.
It was the second general the Russian army lost in Ukraine in a week.
Gerasimov took part in the second Chechen war, the Russian military operation in Syria, and the annexation of Crimea, winning medals from those campaigns. Earlier this month, deputy commander, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, was confirmed by Russian media to have been killed.
The loss of top-ranking officers comes while much of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion force faces logistical problems, poor morale, and Ukrainian resistance, witnesses say.
The failure of its encrypted communications system could be another severe blow, according to sources familiar with the situation.
“11,000 KILLED”
Ukrainian authorities claim more than 11,000 Russian troops were killed since Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
U.S. officials spoke of 3,000 deaths while the Kremlin acknowledged several days ago that nearly 500 Russian soldiers had died on the battlefields.
Later Tuesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was to address British legislators via a video link in what observers called a historic moment.
The announcement came as Russia says it may close its main gas pipeline to Germany if the West has a ban on Russian oil. However, the West was already considering targeting Russia’s energy sector.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has come under pressure to explain why it reached out to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela for supplying oil to the United States. The White House also considers a possible ban on Russian oil imports to punish Moscow financially for the human suffering in Ukraine.
As fighting intensifies, the number of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine has passed two million, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday. The UNHCR has described it as Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War Two.
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