“Burn the invaders in hell! Glory to the Marines! Glory to Ukraine!”
The 503rd Separate Marine Battalion accurately destroys Russian equipment and military vehicles in May 2022. (@503obmp/Zenger)
From February 24 to May 12, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 26,650 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,195 tanks, 2,873 armored fighting vehicles, 534 artillery systems, 191 multiple launch rocket systems, 87 anti-aircraft systems, 199 warplanes, 161 helicopters, 2,019 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 398 unmanned aerial vehicles, 41 units of special equipment and 94 cruise missiles.
The update comes as Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, looks poised to join NATO.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, a minority of Finns supported NATO membership. Now, a majority do.
And Sweden, which shares a maritime border with Russia, may also follow suit.
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The 503rd Separate Marine Battalion accurately destroys Russian equipment and military vehicles in May 2022. (@503obmp/Zenger)
Russia – whose president, Vladimir Putin, has spoken out time and again against NATO expansion – has threatened both countries with consequences if they do indeed join the military alliance.
Despite Finland and Sweden having not yet joined the alliance, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already offered security guarantees to both.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Ukrainian forces have been repelling Russian troops from around the besieged country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.
The 503rd Separate Marine Battalion accurately destroys Russian equipment and military vehicles in May 2022. (@503obmp/Zenger)
But both sides’ forces appear to be locked in a stalemate in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Elsewhere, the new authorities in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson have said that they plan to request formal annexation by Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has maintained that the war will only end when Ukraine recovers all its territories taken by Russia.
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