The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has taken a turn for the worse.
Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov claims that since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in June of this year, over 43,000 troops and 5,000 pieces of equipment have been lost.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have lost an additional 2,040 men over the past weekend.
This staggering loss of life has not gone unnoticed by those in America, including those who are now calling into question whether additional funding should be allocated to supporting Ukraine.
According to CNN, 71% of Republicans say Congress should not authorize new funding and 59% believe that the US has done enough to assist Ukraine already.
Writing on Russian Sputnik News US Maj. Scott Ritter referred to the attack carried out by inexperienced Ukrainian soldiers with no air support as “a massacre” – noting casualties suffered by Ukrainians were 10 times greater than those suffered by Russians.
Despite billions of dollars worth of NATO-provided equipment being given to them for their offensive mission, Ritter believes their inexperience was ultimately what resulted in such heavy losses along the road to Rabotino east of Zaporizhzhia.
He noted that most troops had only three weeks’ worth of training on military fundamentals before they received instruction on how to use NATO weapons – something he does not believe is sufficient preparation for a complex combined arms mission such as this one.
In addition, according to the New York Times there were reports units got lost or delayed attacks until dawn resulting in further losses during battle due to lack of experience with modern warfare tactics used today in military conflicts around the world.
And tens of thousands more will continue suffer until politicians come to terms with the fact that this conflict cannot be solved through force alone – many will continue paying with their lives unnecessarily.
