New Telegraph

Ukraine crisis: US estimates up to 6,000 Russia troops have died

…as US lawmakers overwhelmingly approve massive Ukraine aid package

The US official estimate for the number of Russians killed in the first two weeks of the war is about 5,000 to 6,000, officials tell CBS News, the BBC’s partner in the US.

The number of Russian troops wounded is estimated to be about 15,000 to 18,000, going by assumptions that the rate of injured is typically three times the figure for those killed.

One US official who wished to remain anonymous called this projection “very, very significant casualties”, and compared the death rate to some World War Two battles.

Ukraine has claimed that 12,000 Russian soldiers have died in combat. Last week Russia said fewer than 500 of its troops had died in Ukraine.

The proverbial fog of war together with propaganda make all of these claims hard to verify.

Meanwhile, Russian warplanes carried out overnight strikes in the north-eastern city of Okhtyrka, Sumy region, a top local official says.

Regional state administration head Dmytro Zhyvytsky says that residential areas and a gas pipeline were hit at about 00:30 local time on Thursday.

About 10 minutes later the suburbs of the regional capital Sumy and the village of Bytytsia were also bombed, he says.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

Russia’s military has not commented on the reported raids.

Zhyvytsky also says three humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians are expected to open from 09:00 local time.

On Wednesday, about 5,000 people were evacuated from Sumy, the regional capital that has been under heavy Russian bombardment for days.

And in another development, lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have approved a $13.6bn (£10.3bn) plan to rush emergency aid to Ukraine.

The package, which is expected to pass the Senate in the coming days, allocates about half the money for Ukraine’s defence and half the money for refugee aid.

President Biden had requested just $10bn from Congress, where many representatives are eager to show that they are taking action against Russia.

The measure passed as part of a larger government spending bill after the majority Democrats stripped funds for Covid prevention from the bill amid opposition to it from Republicans.

*Courtesy: BBC

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