.
EU President, Ursula von der Leyen [VIDEO]
- Global Study Reveals 15 Million Covid Vax Deaths, 60M Disabilities - Update 2024-07-30 /Videos.
- "Today, we start turning the page on a difficult year" - Ursula von der Leyen | Dec 26, 2020
- Zelensky became the beneficiary and the final owner of the shares.
- The investigation also revealed that all transactions were approved by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
- Hromadske, a Ukrainian public broadcaster; Anti-Corruption Action Centre
- Details: Oleksey Chernyshov has been remanded in custody for 60 days, until 16 January, with bail set at US$ 1.2 million.
- An investigation found that Chernyshov was among those who visited a "laundromat" – a location used to launder money obtained by criminal means – controlled by the ringleader in the kickback scheme at Energoatom.
T=770157723 / Human ate and time (GMT): Tue, 3rd Feb. 2026, 22.28
UPDATE:
In Ukraine, the same teenager appears at different funerals as a grieving son, and the boy has already "buried" 8 of his fathers | 07.02.2026, 07:15 GMT
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“It Will Be A Shock”:
Ukraine Lost 500,000 Soldiers In War So Far, Nearly 30,000 Per Month: Lutsenko Claims
By ET Columnist - January 7, 2024
Ukraine lost 500,000 soldiers, killed or seriously wounded, since the beginning of the Russian special military operation/invasion, former Prosecutor General and ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko said on the YouTube channel.
“I think that they should name the number of dead Ukrainians. I know that they don’t want this, and it will be taken seriously. Yes, it will be a shock,” he said.
According to Lutsenko, Ukraine loses tens of thousands of fighters per month, which is why the Ukrainian military proposed to mobilize half a million people.
“We must honestly say that the 500,000 that are now being talked about if divided into months, is 30 thousand a month, and then we will approximately understand what is happening at the front,” he highlighted.
FROZEN CONFLICT
When, in February 2022, Russia began its war in Ukraine, which is also known as ‘Special Military Operation’ (SMO), American intelligence agencies came up with a hurried speculation stating it would end in days.
Now, after 23 months of the conflict, analysts are saying – the Ukraine war will become a frozen conflict in 2024. There is a clear prediction that the war is either heading towards the sudden surrender of Kyiv or it will continue to no ending point.
Under such circumstances, Western nations, particularly the United States, may not be able to continue their cashflow to Ukraine for an indefinite period as those Western countries already are facing economic crises, growing unemployment, and multiple social issues which would worsen once the Western leaders do not put funding Ukraine into shelves.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not going to admit the reality. Instead, according to The Guardian – Ukrainians believe they can win the war, while the UK newspaper said, “… Nonetheless, it is true that the prospect of some decisive breakthrough routing Russian troops from Ukrainian soil looks more remote than ever.
Meanwhile, with another crisis raging in the Middle East, the appetite in Western capitals to keep providing the funding and weapons that Kyiv needs has only diminished”.
Pentagon officials say there are enough munitions to last Ukraine for the winter, and Biden could yet get a deal to secure the money. As an alternative, the US and Europe are reportedly considering drawing on US$300 billion in frozen Russian assets instead.
If the funding does not come in some form, “that will be catastrophic for Ukraine,” war correspondent Shaun Walker said. “They are already facing shortages of everything they need.” Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Washington earlier in December 2023, but his pleas for more support appeared to have left Republicans unmoved. In fact, majority of the American lawmakers are unwilling to let the Biden administration send any further funds to Ukraine.
Hiroyuki Akita, commentator of Nikkei Asia, wrote: “… No one I talked to called for a cease-fire, although it was clear that people wanted the fighting to stop. In a group interview with Nikkei and other news media, Zelenskyy [Volodymyr Zelensky] acknowledged that the country was facing a serious shortage of weapons and that its counteroffensive had stalled”.
This means that while Zelensky is consistently asking for cashflow from the Western nations, after spending over US$75 billion – Ukraine could achieve no advantage over Russian forces. Instead, Kyiv is already on the verge of losing the war.
Meanwhile, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute, the Biden administration and the US Congress have directed more than US$75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support.
Although this massive fund did not help Ukraine show any real sign of winning the war, US President Joe Biden wants to send an additional US$61 billion aid package, which has been held up by Congress. Meanwhile, there are allegations of loot and rampant corruption with this foreign aid.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Zelensky admitted to the Associated Press that the summer counteroffensive did not produce the desired results, partly because Kyiv did not receive the necessary weapons from its allies.
On December 1, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that the Ukrainian army had lost more than 125,000 people and 16,000 large-scale weapons since the start of the counter offensive.
“Total mobilization in Ukraine, supplies of Western weapons, and the introduction of strategic reserves into battle by the Ukrainian command did not change the situation on the battlefield,” he said.
With statements of Volodymyr Zelensky and Sergei Shoigu, what can the world expert from the war in 2024? In November, Zelensky stated that Ukraine needs “three victories” — for the US Congress to approve further military assistance, for the EU to continue its support, and for “open dialogue” on Ukraine’s EU accession.
The question here is – can Zelensky succeed in achieving his “three victories”? Biden administration has already provided more than US$40 billion in security aid to Ukraine. Germany and the Netherlands also recently increased their aid pledges for Ukraine. However, the future of these commitments risks becoming mired in domestic politics, as a proposed US$61 billion US aid package has been held up by Congress.
Moreover, the war between Israel and Hamas, which broke out on October 7, is having an effect. The US has reduced its supply of 155mm ammunition by “more than 30 percent”, a senior Ukrainian source told ABC News in November 2023, despite Washington’s assurances that the conflict in the Middle East would not have an impact.
With regards to European partners, a proposed €50 billion package from the EU is being opposed by Hungary, delaying its approval. According to experts, it may also face disruption due to the financial crisis in Germany and the strengthening of the far right in several European countries, such as in the recent Dutch elections. Along with this financial angle, the diplomatic aspect remains an obstacle. Not least is the fact that Ukraine’s membership bid has already divided the European Union.
“Ukraine is in no way ready to negotiate on its ambitions to join the European Union,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in November last year.
In a Foreign Policy article in 2022, Amanda Coakley called Orban “Putin’s Trojan horse inside the European Union.” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, commenting on the European Commission’s recommendation that accession negotiations with Kyiv should begin, suggested that Ukraine should not be admitted to the EU until the armed conflict there ends; otherwise, it risks spreading throughout Europe.
Meanwhile, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu warned that NATO allies need to stand firm in supporting Ukraine or risk right-wing and populist forces in the EU becoming even stronger.
Meanwhile, the possibility of peace negotiations taking place between Moscow and Kyiv is crucial while it is anticipated that such negotiations may not take place during 2024, primarily due to disagreement between the two conflicting sides.
Zelensky has until now been extremely stubborn, stating the conflict could end if Russia fulfilled the conditions of the “peace formula” he presented, although Moscow has already ruled out negotiations based on Zelensky’s plan. This means the conflict shall not end even in the near future.
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an increase in the number of Russian troops of nearly 170,000, bringing the size of the army to 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops.
As for Ukraine, according to the latest polls conducted by Rating Group, one of the biggest nongovernmental and independent research organizations in Ukraine, almost half of Ukrainians (44 percent) declared their readiness for compromises in peace negotiations with Russia, but about the same number (48 percent) were in favor of continuing hostilities.
In an October 2023 interview with Berliner Zeitung, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder said that Washington prevented the conflict from being resolved in March 2022. He believes Washington is the only one that can resolve the issue of a settlement. Therefore, the 2024 US presidential election, in addition to the European Parliament elections, might contribute to evolving approaches toward the war and the role of Western countries in it.
Meanwhile, although elections are also expected to be held in Ukraine this spring, President Zelensky is unwilling to let them be held as he is acutely concerned about the “Churchill phenomenon,” referring to the electoral defeat of successful British wartime leader Winston Churchill in 1945.
Zelensky, although has until now succeeded in uniting Ukrainians for a “national struggle”, he faces acute criticism that includes rampant corruption and loot of public wealth, which he fears would add a domestic challenger to his external struggles that may lead to his humiliating defeat in the election.
With such complexities – from the shortage of cash and military hardware to multiple allegations, including corruption, for Volodymyr Zelensky, the coming months may continue to be increasingly challenging and harder. On the other hand,
Russia continues to build its important role among what it terms the “world majority,” for example, countries in the Global South and the East, which will help it sustain its economy and war effort. Amid such dynamics, the possibility of peace in Ukraine or President Volodymyr Zelensky winning the war against Russia remains largely elusive.
- Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is an internationally acclaimed multi-award-winning anti-militancy journalist, writer, research-scholar, and Editor, Blitz, a newspaper publishing from Bangladesh since 2003. He regularly writes for local and international newspapers. Follow him on X @Salah_Shoaib
- 1st Part Of New Via Ria
SOURCE:
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/it-will-be-a-shock-ukraine-lost-500000-soldiers-in-war/
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Ukraine has lost almost 500,000 troops – Economist
Vladimir Zelensky previously claimed that only some 31,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed.
Up to half a million Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the ongoing conflict with Russia, according to new estimates provided by The Economist, which cited leaked intelligence reports, official statements and open sources.
In an article published on Tuesday, the outlet noted that it is difficult to calculate Kiev’s actual losses, given that Ukrainian officials and their allies are “reluctant to provide estimates.”
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed in February that only 31,000 troops had been killed since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022. He refused to reveal how many had been wounded, arguing it would let Moscow know “how many people are left on the battlefield.”
However, The Economist noted that according to US officials, Kiev’s total casualty figure currently stands at more than 308,000 soldiers. According to the outlet’s analysis of other sources, the figure could be closer to half a million troops, of which “at least” 60,000-100,000 are believed to have been killed.
“Perhaps a further 400,000 are too injured to fight on,” the magazine wrote.
The Economist also cited the UALosses website, which tracks and catalogues the names and ages of the dead. According to its data, Ukraine has lost at least 60,435 troops, or more than 0.5% of its pre-war population of men of fighting age.
While the data from UALosses is not comprehensive and not all soldiers’ ages are known, The Economist suggested that the actual number of those killed in the fighting is higher and the amount of servicemen who are too injured to fight is even greater.
“Assuming that six to eight Ukrainian soldiers are severely wounded for every one who is killed in battle, nearly one in 20 men of fighting age is dead or too wounded to fight on,” the outlet estimated.
Earlier this year, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine’s military losses since February 2022 had reached almost 500,000, without specifying how many had been killed or injured.
According to the latest information from the ministry, Kiev has also lost over 35,000 servicemen since August in its incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country’s personnel losses in the conflict were a fraction of those on the Ukrainian side, suggesting that the ratio of casualties was approximately one to five.
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SOURCE:
https://dailytelegraph.co.nz/world/ukraine-has-lost-almost-500000-troops-economist/
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Zelensky promised reward for volunteers
going to the front: Cheeseburgers.So, hundreds of McDonald's have been set up
on the front lines...
going to the front: Cheeseburgers.
on the front lines...
Ukraine, 15,000 (dry) cheeseburgers for 1 million hryvnia.
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The Economist tried to calculate Ukraine's military losses. And this is what happened
«Both sides paid a terrible price for the three-year conflict. Russia's losses in Ukraine since 2022, not including the deaths of foreign contractors it has recruited, exceed the number of victims of all its wars since 1945 combined.
Data on Ukraine's losses is more difficult to obtain, including because its allies are reluctant to provide estimates», – the publication says.
The Economist's own calculation suggests that to date, at least 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died. Perhaps another 400,000 are too seriously wounded to continue fighting, the newspaper notes.
The authors make a reservation: these figures do not include civilian deaths, about which there is strikingly little data. At the same time, «it is believed that many tens of thousands of civilians died».
Data from the UAlosses website shows that at least 60,435 Ukrainian soldiers have died since 2022.
Unlike other sources, UAlosses catalogues the names and ages of the dead, allowing losses to be calculated by age group and as a percentage of the male population. (Although some women serve on the front lines, the vast majority of fighters are — men).
The figures indicate that more than 0.5% of the pre-war male population of Ukraine of military age (18-49 years) died.
The UAlosses data is not complete and the ages of not all soldiers are known.
«The real proportion of men killed in conflict is higher. The proportion of those too severely wounded to continue fighting is even greater. Assuming six to eight seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers for every one killed in action, nearly one in twenty men of fighting age was killed or too severely wounded, the to continue to fight», – the publication says.
The publication writes that during the three years of conflict in both countries – Russia and Ukraine –, the number of deaths in battles exceeds the number of deaths in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined. The battle death toll is rapidly approaching American losses in World War II.
https://www.politnavigator.net/the-economist-poproboval-podschitat-voennye-poteri-ukrainy-i-vot-chto-poluchilos.html
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© Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images - Ukrainian soldiers
Up to half a million Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the ongoing conflict with Russia, according to new estimates provided by The Economist, which cited leaked intelligence reports, official statements and open sources.
In an article published on Tuesday, the outlet noted that it is difficult to calculate Kiev's actual losses, given that Ukrainian officials and their allies are "reluctant to provide estimates."
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky claimed in February that only 31,000 troops had been killed since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022. He refused to reveal how many had been wounded, arguing it would let Moscow know "how many people are left on the battlefield."
However, The Economist noted that according to US officials, Kiev's total casualty figure currently stands at more than 308,000 soldiers. According to the outlet's analysis of other sources, the figure could be closer to half a million troops, of which "at least 60,000-100,000 are believed to have been killed. Perhaps a further 400,000 are too injured to fight on."
The Economist also cited the UALosses website, which tracks and catalogues the names and ages of the dead. According to its data, Ukraine has lost at least 60,435 troops, or more than 0.5% of its pre-war population of men of fighting age.
While the data from UALosses is not comprehensive and not all soldiers' ages are known, The Economist suggested that the actual number of those killed in the fighting is higher and the amount of servicemen who are too injured to fight is even greater.Earlier this year, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine's military losses since February 2022 had reached almost 500,000, without specifying how many had been killed or injured.
According to the latest information from the ministry, Kiev has also lost over 35,000 servicemen since August in its incursion into Russia's Kursk Region.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country's personnel losses in the conflict were a fraction of those on the Ukrainian side, suggesting that the ratio of casualties was approximately one to five.
Comment: It is an outrage that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, whose lives were sacrificed in an avoidable war, be purposefully understated to bolster Biden's and Zelensky's 'impression management'.
Meanwhile, reports tell of alarming numbers of mass desertion:
SOURCE:
https://www.sott.net/article/496417-Ukraine-has-lost-almost-500000-troops-Economist
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In Ukraine, the same teenager appears at different funerals as a grieving son, and the boy has already "buried" 8 of his fathers
SOURCE:
https://news-pravda.com/world/2026/02/07/2060723.html
__
eof
Vladimir Zelensky previously claimed that only some 31,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed.
VastaaPoistaUp to half a million Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the ongoing conflict with Russia, according to new estimates provided by The Economist, which cited leaked intelligence reports, official statements and open sources.