According to statistics made public on Sunday by the chief of Norway’s army, 180,000 Russians have been killed or injured in Ukraine so far, compared to 100,000 military fatalities and 30,000 civilian fatalities for the Ukrainians.
According to Norwegian Chief of Defence Eirik Kristoffersen in an interview with TV2, “Russian losses are starting to approach roughly 180,000 killed or injured soldiers.” He didn’t elaborate on how the figures were calculated.
Since NATO’s establishment in 1949, Norway, a country bordering Russia, has been a member.
“Ukrainian losses are probably over 100,000 dead or wounded. In addition Ukraine has about 30,000 civilians who died in this terrible war,” said the Norwegian general.
For months, Moscow and Kiev have not given accurate accounting of their losses.
President of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, Mark Milley, stated in November that the Russian army had suffered more than 100,000 casualties or wounds, and that the Ukrainian side had “probably” sustained a similar toll.
It is impossible to independently verify these numbers.
Despite significant losses Considering Moscow’s mobilization and weaponry production capabilities, Kristoffersen declared on Sunday that “Russia is able to prolong (this war) for quite a long period.”
“What worries most is whether Ukraine is going to be able to keep the Russian air force out of the war,” he said, adding that they have been able to so far “thanks to Ukrainian anti-aircraft defences”.
Long-range missile strikes have accounted for the majority of Russian attacks in recent months.
The Norwegian general also demanded that combat tanks be sent to Ukraine as soon as possible, which has so far been hampered mostly by Germany.
“If they’re going to go on the offensive in the winter, they (Ukrainians) need it fast,” Kristoffersen added.
Berlin declined on Friday to send its Leopard tanks to Kyiv despite urgent requests from Ukraine and many European nations.
Several other European countries, including Norway, have these powerful tanks in their armies, but their transfer to Ukraine is theoretically dependent on German approval.
