The most senior US general estimates that about 100,000 Russian soldiers and 100,000 Ukrainians were killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine.
The US Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, also claimed that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the conflict.
The estimates are the highest ever published by a Western authority.
He also said that signs of Kiev’s readiness to resume talks with Moscow offer a “window” to negotiations.
In recent days, he has signaled that he is ready to hold some talks with Moscow after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky withdrew from demanding the removal of his rival, Vladimir Putin, before the resumption of negotiations.
Speaking in New York, General Milley added that for any negotiation to be successful, both Russia and Ukraine must mutually agree that wartime victory “may not be achieved by military means and therefore you must resort to other means”. “.
The senior general, who serves as the most senior military adviser to US President Joe Biden, said the scale of the casualties could convince Moscow and Kiev of the need for negotiations in the coming winter months, when the fighting could dwindle due to circumstances. freeze.
“You’re looking at over 100,000 dead and wounded Russian soldiers,” said General Milley. “The same is probably on the Ukrainian side.”
Both Ukraine and Russia keep their missing numbers secret.
The latest update from Moscow in September said that only 5,937 soldiers had been killed since the conflict began. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu denied reports of the significantly higher death toll.
General Milley’s estimate is noticeably higher. For comparison, an estimated 15,000 Soviet soldiers died in the 1979-89 conflict in Afghanistan.
Ukraine refused to give casualty figures. But in August, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, was reported in the Ukrainian media that 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed so far.
The UN said it did not find the figures released by those involved in the conflict reliable.
“There was an enormous amount of suffering, human suffering,” said General Milley. He also noted that between 15 and 30 million refugees have been produced since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.
The UN registered 7.8 million people from Ukraine as refugees across Europe, including Russia. However, this figure does not include those who had to flee their homes but remained in Ukraine.
Wednesday (9/11) announced that Moscow troops will begin to withdraw from the important southern city of Kherson, the only major city to fall to Russian forces.
General Milley noted that although “preliminary indications” the withdrawal has begun, Russia has amassed around 20,000 to 30,000 troops in the city and that the withdrawal may take several weeks.
“They have made it public that they have done this. I believe they are doing this to maintain their strength to re-establish the defensive lines south of the river (Dnieper), but this needs to be seen,” he said.
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin called in about 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine.
Military experts in the West and Ukraine say the need for mobilization is a sign that Russian troops are badly failing on the Ukrainian battlefields.
– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63582629.
source: Noticias
