Russia-Ukraine war breaches 10-month mark

The Russia-Ukraine war that started with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 now passed its 10-month mark, moving fast into a phase of the war of attrition with no sign of an end. In September 2022, Russia announced that it had annexed the following four provinces - Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kherson, and Donetsk - but battles are ongoing between the two nations over those areas. The New York Times estimated that Russia and Ukraine each have over 100,000 casualties.

A fierce battle recently took place near Donetsk. Moscow unusually confirmed on Monday that a Ukrainian attack killed 63 Russian soldiers in its temporary military quarters in Makiivka City, Donetsk. Ukraine's Defense Ministry said the actual casualties might reach 400.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian forces fired six HIMARS rockets supplied by the U.S. to the Russian military base. At the same time, the two of them were intercepted by Russia. However, one of the missiles hit the mark on the ammunition storage, causing huge damage. The NYT reported that the casualties announced by Moswere was one of the largest caused by a single battle and that it must be "an embarrassment" for Vladimir Putin.

The loss prompted criticism in Moscow that the Russian forces repeated mistakes such as placing ammunition warehouse and soldiers together within the shooting range of HIMARS rockets. Former Chairman Sergey Mironov of Russia's Federation Council urged that high-ranking officials who did not provide necessary military information and intelligence should be held criminally liable.


Min Kim kimmin@donga.com