MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army has lost over 444,000 troops since the beginning of the special military operation and has been daily losing over 800 troops and 120 various armaments since the beginning of 2024, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told the Defense Ministry's board meeting.
He reported the liberation of several residential settlements in Donbass, disclosed Kiev attempts to prevent the collapse of the front, and announced plans to rearm the Eastern and Central Military Districts.
Military operation
Since the liberation of Avdeyevka, the Russian forces have been improving the situation in the Donetsk and Kupyansk directions and seizing new strongholds and positions of Ukrainian troops.
Since the beginning of the year, Russia has liberated close to 327 square kilometers in Donbass and Novorossiya (317 square km a week ago). "In the past week, the Ukrainian armed forces were ousted from the settlements of Pobeda, Lastochkino, Severnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," Shoigu said.
Russian precision weapons wipe out Ukrainian army reserves and deny them the ability to rotate troops and carry out counterattacks.
"After the collapse of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian army command has been trying to stabilize the situation at the expense of the remaining reserves and prevent the collapse of the frontline," Shoigu said.
The Ukrainian army’s position shows the futility of the US strategy to contain Russia at the expense of Ukrainian lives and support for the Kiev regime. "We will continue to fulfill the tasks set by the supreme commander-in-chief in the special operation until its goals are achieved," Shoigu said.
Central Asia
The situation remains complicated in Central Asia and the main threat comes from Afghanistan. The Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) increased the strength of militants 15% in the past year. "We have a predicted figure of 20% rise in the production of drugs and their subsequent traffic across the Central Asian countries," Shoigu said.
The Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) seeks to spread radical ideas in Central Asia and carry out sabotage activities along the southern borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
"Their main goal is to spread radical ideas and carry out sabotage activities along the CSTO’s southern borders," Shoigu said.
Pro-western non-governmental organizations have mounted anti-Russian activities and Moscow has to take preventive measures, the minister said.
The Russian Central Military District will continue receiving Iskander-M tactical missile systems and Tornado-G multiple launch rocket systems this year.
"The district’s units and formations are being provided with the latest weapons, including Iskander-M systems and Tornado-G multiple rocket launchers," Shoigu said adding 18 military units will be reorganized.
Eastern district
Washington continues to fan up tensions on the Korean Peninsula and around Taiwan to increase its military presence. The scope of exercises of the United States and allies will increase this year.
The Eastern Military District will receive over 200 modern and upgraded arms, including Tornado-S MLRS, Tor-M2 air defense launchers, Typhoon armored combat vehicles.
The main effort will focus on training reserve battalions, junior specialists and drone operators.
"The troops of the district will also take part in four joint international drills with the Mongolian, Indian, Laotian and Vietnamese military," Shoigu said.
NBC troops
The role of Russian Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) protection troops is growing each year. They monitor the radioactive situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. In the summer of 2023, the NBC troops eliminated the threat of biological contamination after the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) collapsed.
"In July 2023, [we] eliminated the threat of biological contamination following the collapse of the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Over 1,500 facilities have been decontaminated on an area of 340,000 square meters which helped minimize financial damage," Shoigu said.
Heavy flamethrowers of the forces have carried out over 4,400 missions since the beginning of the special military operation. The delivery of new systems increased the combat potential 2.3 times. "At present, the share of modern arms and hardware in the NBC troops has reached 74% and will rise to 80% by 2027," Shoigu said.
Commando Day
Russia is marking the Commando day and Shoigu promised "the country will know the exploits which are daily committed by the Special Operation Forces in the near future."