According to Zelensky, Russian casualties are six times higher than those of Ukraine

Important developments on July 1:

• According to Selenskyj, the number of victims in Russia is six times higher than in Ukraine
• Russia is testing new methods of attack on Kiev, says military
• Document reveals why Russia keeps accidentally bombing itself, WP reports
• Source: Ukrainian cyberattack leaves at least 250,000 consumers in Russian-occupied territories without connection
• The chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee demands that Ukraine be allowed to attack “valid military targets” in Russia

The ratio of losses of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers in this phase of the war is one to six, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer on June 30.

“In fact, they (the Russian armed forces) have much more men, and in fact we care more about our people. We will not have more men (on the battlefield) than Russia,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky added that the ratio used to be one to four, but now, given the situation in the directions of the cities of Pokrovsk and Kharkiv, it is six to one.

Russia has lost over 540,000 soldiers since the start of the all-out war in Ukraine. Invasion in February 2022, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. This number includes both dead and injured.

Through open-source research, Mediazona, an independent Russian media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 64,000 Russian soldiers killed since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify this data.

Zelensky said the war depends on technology and whoever is more advanced will win.

Zelensky spoke about how Ukraine can hold its own on the battlefield despite its smaller troop and weaponry strength, and called on the West to close any loopholes that allow Russia to evade sanctions over domestic drone and missile production.

It is also necessary to finance the domestic production of drones and missiles in Ukraine, he added.

Zelensky also stressed that Russia profits primarily from its oil and gas exports, which it uses to fuel its aggression in Ukraine.

“This is the most important thing and this is what we must focus on – not allowing sanctions to be circumvented, providing Ukraine with technological support and not being afraid of what will happen to Russia after (Vladimir) Putin. This is the main message,” Zelensky said.

Meduza: Russian death data suggests over 64,000 soldiers killed in fighting in Ukraine

Recently released death data suggest that over 64,000 Russians have been killed in fighting in Ukraine, according to a June 28 report by independent Russian media Meduza and Mediazona.

Russia attempting new ways to attack Kyiv, military says

The Russian military is testing a new approach to attacking the capital Kyiv, Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said on June 30.

“The aggressor is trying new tactics – he is looking for the right time, the right methods and means to attack Kyiv. Because the capital of Ukraine has always been and will always be one of the highest priority targets for the invaders,” Popko wrote on Telegram.

Russian forces attacked Kyiv with rockets at around 8 p.m. local time on June 30. The debris hit a 14-story residential building in the Obolon district.

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, an elderly woman was hospitalized.

Popko said the June 30 attack was “different” from recent Russian attacks on the capital.

The Russian armed forces did not carry out mass or combined night attacks using missiles and drones. According to the Kyiv city military administration, they also did not use ballistic missiles or cruise missiles from strategic bombers.

Popko called on the residents of Kyiv not to ignore air raid warnings.

“The missiles are fired, but they do not disintegrate, and the fragments pose a threat to human life,” he said.

Three people, including a child, were also injured in the Russian attack on June 30 in Kyiv Oblast, Governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported. The victims have been receiving medical treatment in one of the regional hospitals since July 1, he added.

Although the attack did not hit critical infrastructure, the governor said falling debris damaged three houses, several administrative buildings, a warehouse and 16 vehicles.

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Editor’s note: This article was published in the twice-weekly newsletter The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak on June 27, 2024, and republished with permission from the Kyiv Independent. To subscribe to The Counteroffensive, click here. When the explosions hit the thermal power plant, Seni…

Document reveals why Russia keeps accidentally bombing itself, WP reports

A document obtained by the Washington Post (WP) suggests that Russia dropped glide bombs on its territory nearly 40 times within a year, most likely due to a malfunction in the guidance systems, the newspaper reported on July 1.

The document, presumably compiled by the Belgorod city emergency department, records 38 incidents in the year from April 2023 to April 2024.

Experts believe that the accidental bombings are due to defective munitions. Ruslan Leviev, a military expert at the Conflict Intelligence Group, told the Washington Post that “a certain percentage of Russian bombs are defective.”

“We believe these accidental releases are due to the unreliability of these kits, but that does not seem to bother the Air Force,” he added.

There have already been several reported incidents of Russian munitions hitting the Belgorod region, most notably one in April 2023, which left a huge crater in downtown Belgorod.

On May 12, an explosion caused the partial collapse of a residential building in Belgorod, killing 17 people. The Kremlin blamed a Ukrainian missile, but OSINT researchers concluded that it was a Russian bomb.

The document seen by the WP suggests that such incidents are far more widespread than previously thought, as many of the bombs fail to explode and land in the less populated areas around the city, sometimes only being discovered days later by farmers and park rangers.

Russia has relied heavily on glide bombs in its offensive on Kharkiv Oblast to clear the way for ground troops.

Despite their simplicity and low cost, glide bombs have become one of Russia’s most effective weapons during the course of the all-out war. In February, they contributed to the fall of the strategically important city of Avdiivka – Russia’s first major success in nine months.

Experts warn that these bombs could pose an even greater threat to Ukraine, which currently has little ability to defend itself against them, as Russia is expected to continue to deploy glide bombs in large numbers to support future offensive operations.

With the number of Russian tank losses in Ukraine increasing, here’s what you should know:

Russian losses in Ukraine recently reached another milestone: the total number of “tanks” destroyed by Kiev exceeded the 8,000 mark. As of July 1, the number was 8,099, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the beginning of the large-scale invasion, Russia had

Source: Ukrainian cyberattack leaves at least 250,000 consumers without connection in Russian-occupied territories

A large-scale cyberattack by the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service (HUR) in late June left at least 250,000 consumers in occupied Crimea and other Russian-controlled territories without communications, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.

HUR has reportedly carried out several cyberattacks in recent months.

An attack in June is said to have targeted the communications network. According to HUR, representatives of Russian providers spoke of the “most powerful DDoS attack they have ever experienced”.

The agency also attacked Russia’s largest Internet providers on the occupied peninsula as well as the servers of propaganda media and telecommunications operators at the end of June, the source claimed.

According to reports, the work of local accounting systems was hampered, and the traffic registration and control system was also attacked, which led to a long line of cars trying to cross the illegally constructed Kerch Bridge.

The Kyiv Independent could not confirm these claims.

War-supporting companies in Russia targeted by Ukrainian hackers

Ukrainian activists from the cyber community BO_Team, in cooperation with experts from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, have carried out a series of attacks on Russian companies supporting the war against Ukraine.

Ukraine should be allowed to strike ‘valid military targets’ in Russia, US House Intelligence Committee chair says

Ukraine must be allowed to attack “valid military targets” in Russia, said Mike Turner, Republican congressman from Ohio and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in Kyiv on July 1.

Visiting Kyiv as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressmen, Turner said his position on Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory was “more comprehensive than that of the (President Joe Biden) administration.”

The United States gave Ukraine permission on June 1 to attack targets in Russia near the border with Kharkiv Oblast using American weapons, including HIMARS missiles, after Russia launched a renewed offensive in the region on May 10.

Ukraine remains prohibited from using ATACMS and other long-range weapons from the United States to launch attacks deep into Russia.

“I believe that Ukraine should be allowed to use the weapons it receives for valid military purposes,” Turner said.

“My position is the same as that of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,” Turner added, referring to Stoltenberg’s comments in June that limiting Ukraine’s ability to attack targets in Russia “would be like asking them to defend themselves with one hand behind their back.”

Turner also stressed that Russia’s arms production is estimated to be far higher than that of the West.

Despite Western efforts to undermine Russian industrial and military production, the country is only increasing its investment in arms production and allocating a record share of its Russian federal budget for military purposes for 2024.

“This is a mathematical problem and I think that this problem can also be responded to with military force.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on June 7 that his country had increased its ammunition production by more than 20 times and weeks later called on Russia to resume production of short- and medium-range nuclear-capable missiles.

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Editor’s note: This article was published in the twice-weekly newsletter The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak on June 23, 2024, and is republished with permission from the Kyiv Independent. To subscribe to The Counteroffensive, click here. *Sofia’s name has been changed for security reasons…