According to information shared by Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko, who is associated with the Ukrainian news outlet known as The Kyiv Independent, a full amid the fighting in Ukraine that has been unfolding after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent invasion of the country. A Russian battalion tactical group is “a modular tactical organization created from a garrisoned Russian Army brigade to deploy combat power to conflict zones,” an article by a U.S. Army captain explains, and Ponomarenko adds that Russia has been estimated to have recently started out with somewhere around 120 to 125 of the groups deployed in the fight against Ukraine.
An article in Forbes gave a slightly lower estimate of the number of battalion tactical groups that had been assembled on Russia’s side — which would make the dent from those losses even more substantial. The article, which could have under-estimated the forces at hand considering it came out before the full-fledged invasion began, stated the Russian military had “staged equipment for nearly 100 battalion tactical groups along Ukraine’s borders. It’s a powerful force with more than a thousand tanks, hundreds of artillery pieces and all the usual engineering, air-defense and electronic-warfare support.” Ukrainians also say that they’ve wiped out a large quantity of Russian equipment during this conflict, including 135 artillery pieces, 33 pieces of anti-aircraft weaponry, over 360 tanks, and a whole lot more.
⚡️Zelensky: This is the biggest blow to the Russian army in decades.
In the recent address, Zelensky said that Russia hasn't lost more troops in 17 days in decades. He added that the Russian military are being taken prisoners en masse, while many are trying to flee Ukraine.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 12, 2022
As the journalist from Ukraine explained the latest information on Ukrainian destruction of these battalion groups: “Ukrainian intelligence: 18 Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) have lost their combat capability in action, 13 more have been completely destroyed. In general, Russia was believed to have had a total of 120-125 BTGs deployed against Ukraine.” Ukrainian personnel have claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on the Russian invaders, although these apparent steep losses — which have been tentatively backed up in part by Western officials — have not stopped Russian military aggression against the Ukrainian population. Over 1,500 residents of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol have been killed amid Russia’s ongoing assaults, according to local officials, and that’s not the only city where Ukrainian civilians have faced attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also says that some 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, which is the first estimate of Ukrainian military casualties that’s been provided directly from the defenders’ side.
⚡️City council: 1,582 Mariupol residents killed by Russia.
During 12 days of the blockade of the city in Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces have shelled residential neighborhoods and killed 1582 civilians, according to the Mariupol City Council.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 11, 2022
Some of the most recently announced moves by the United States to go after Russia over this aggression include a revocation of its most favored nation status designation within the U.S., which provided for relatively free trade between the two countries. Some $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine has also been approved by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden; as Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) explained the aid, “We’re giving the Ukrainians billions for food, medicine, shelter, and support for the over two million refugees who have had to leave Ukraine, as well as funding for weapons transfers like Javelins and Stingers.” The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine has continued to grow, and in the meantime, the European Union “has granted three years of residency, right to work, right to services, and school to any Ukrainian refugee,” an NBC report explains.
The European Union has granted three years of residency, right to work, right to services and school to any Ukrainian refugee. @DMiliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, joins @AliciaMenendez to discuss. https://t.co/XcOWxGhwU4 pic.twitter.com/wf3SLOVRW5
— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) March 12, 2022
