Russian soldiers lost 70% of soldiers in Ukraine, according to intercepted phone conversation

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Russian soldiers lost 70% of soldiers in Ukraine, according to intercepted phone conversation

According to the supposed intercepted telephone conversations obtained by Ukrainian authorities, Russian units operating in Ukraine have lost 70% of their personnel.

Our regiment has suffered the biggest losses. We are almost gone. There were a few thousand of us. There are about four hundred left now, a person understood to be a Russian soldier, in a video released by Ukraine's Security Service SBU titled Ukrainian defenders destroy occupiers near Mykolaiv. Russian forces don't believe in their victory and are now trying to escape Ukrainian soldiers, the unnamed soldier told his wife.

Russian soldiers are not thinking about capturing Ukraine, but instead are planning to return home to terminate their contracts, according to the SBU.

The soldier said I will not come here for the second time.

The SBU said in a statement that he and the other occupiers should not come here for their part.

Around 20,600 Russian personnel have been lost between the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and Monday, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said in its most recent casualties report.

Russian losses included 790 tanks, 2,041 armored combat vehicles, 167 aircraft and 147 helicopters, among other pieces of military equipment, according to the ministry.

Russia's last official tally from March 25 claimed it had lost 1,351 men in the conflict, while another 3,285 were wounded.

The number of Russian casualties could be as high as 40,000, according to NATO officials.

Yes, we have significant losses of troops, and it is a huge tragedy for us, said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia withdrew its forces near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as an act of goodwill to lift tensions during peace negotiations, according to Peskov.

Russia launched a new offensive along Ukraine's eastern flank on Monday, with the Russians' main military force focusing on taking complete control of the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Donbas, according to a report by Reuters.

Russian forces have started the battle of the Donbas for which they have long prepared, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address.

The offensive is the start of the second phase of Russia's invasion, said Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff.

Experts warned that a depleted Russian army struggling with morale problems, Ukrainian counterattacks and supply issues may not achieve its goals, according to The Moscow Times.