Russian invasion: It's been a bad week for Ukraine, expert says
Iris Independent Research president Rebecca Grant provides insight on the Russia-Ukraine conflict on 'America Reports.'
The invasion of Ukraine has lasted 100 days, with no end yet in sight as Russia and Ukraine continue to fight for control of eastern Ukraine.
Russia maintains that it is conducting a "special operation" in its neighboring country, and the "operation" has taken a significant toll on the Ukrainian people.
Nearly 15 million people have reportedly fled their homes since the invasion started, according to the latest data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The data indicates that around 6.8 million Ukrainian residents have headed for neighboring countries while an additional (estimated) 8 million remain displaced within the country itself.
The latest count shows that 3,627,178 people went to Poland, 989,357 went to Romania, 971,417 went to Russia, 682,594 went to Hungary, 479,513 went to Moldova, 461,164 went to Slovakia and 30,092 went to Belarus. Those numbers continue to climb.
Most of the refugees are women and children, with all men aged between 18 and 60 ordered to stay and fight the invasion. An estimated 4,169 civilians have been killed due to the conflict, with an additional 4,982 people injured.
Humanitarian aid has flooded into Ukraine to the tune of $362 million, but the total estimated cost hovers around $1.85 billion. The World Bank Group mobilized an emergency financing package of $925 in support of Ukraine, with a plan to provide over $3 billion over the coming months.
The U.N. can supply rough estimates of civilian casualties, but the numbers of combat casualties on either side of the conflict vary wildly depending on the source. The information war has proven an understandably vital and contentious element of the overall conflict, with both Russia and Ukraine fighting for their narrative to dominate.
Both sides have claimed to have killed tens of thousands of enemy combatants: Moscow says its forces have killed around 23,367 Ukrainian troops, while Kyiv counters that its troops have killed around 30,850 Russian troops.
ANTI-WAR RUSSIANS HAVE THEIR HANDS TIED AS UKRAINE WAR DRAGS ON
The counterclaims are only fractions of those totals, with Kyiv saying it has lost between 2,500 and 3,000 troops while Moscow insists only 1,351 Russian troops have died in combat.
The BBC was only able to confirm 557 of those Russian fatalities and alleged that Ukraine regularly includes the number of injured troops in the losses, which strongly boosts them. Among the confirmed deaths the BBC counted one major-general, seven colonels, one naval captain first rank, nine lieutenant-colonels, 20 majors and 70 junior officers, with the rest holding non-commissioned ranks or only holding the rank of private.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also boasts a wide range of destroyed vehicles, including 210 aircraft, 175 helicopters, 1,363 tanks, 13 boats, 3354 armored personnel vehicles, 2325 vehicles and fuel tanks, 95 anti-aircraft warfare systems and 120 cruise missiles, according to the latest (unverified) claim.
To boost Ukraine’s defenses, the U.S. announced a new spending package of $700 million in military aid, which includes funding for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. The latest package adds to the already robust $4.6 billion in military assistance – soon to pale in comparison to the $40 billion aid bill President Biden signed May 21. That bill included $20 billion in military funding.
The latest bill included 1,000 Javelin shoulder-launched rockets, 50 Command Launch Units, 6,000 anti-armor weapons and 15,000 155mm artillery rounds, as well as four helicopters and 15 tactical vehicles.
The staggering cost is evident in other areas, too, including extreme economic trouble for Russian citizens. The World Bank has projected Russia’s economy will shrink by approximately 11.2% in 2022, while Ukraine’s economy has already shrunk an estimated 45%.
The fighting and economic troubles have threatened the world’s food supply as Russia and Ukraine together account for around 30% of the world’s grain supply. Sanctions against Russia, and the threat of additional sanctions for helping it, have further hurt its trading partners as Central Asian countries struggle with the sudden loss of a major export destination.
The war has therefore proven unpopular within Russia as well. Russian watchdog OVD Info had counted 15,446 people arrested at protests held across the country in the first weeks of the war, but the count stopped after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered severe action against anyone who tried to protest or speak out over the war.
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Dozhd, a major independent news broadcaster in Moscow also known as TV Rain, suspended operations in early March after it continued to provide unfavorable coverage of the invasion.
The station ended its final broadcast with a now-familiar protest refrain, saying "No to War."
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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