"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"

Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Military Madness > Roughly 95,000 Russian Troop Deaths in Ukraine (very roughly); Two pro-Ukraine terrorists arrested in Marseille

 

Media report estimates 95,000 Russian troop deaths so far in Ukraine


Europe

The Kremlin declined to comment Tuesday after the release of a report documenting the deaths of more than 95,000 Russian soldiers fighting Ukraine. The report was based on open-access data collated by independent Russian news outlet Mediazona in collaboration with the BBC's Russian Service.

The Mediazona graphic echoes 'The Apotheosis of War', an 1871 painting by Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin depicting a pile of skulls
The Mediazona graphic echoes 'The Apotheosis of War', an 1871 painting by Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin depicting a pile of skulls © AFP

On the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion on Monday, Mediazona published an infographic with images and official reports of deaths of soldiers collated from various sources including social media, news reports and obituaries.

Mediazona and the BBC have been updating the list since the offensive began.

It was presented as a graphic of thousands of photos of soldiers forming an image of a famous 1871 painting by Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin called "The Apotheosis of War" and depicting a huge pile of skulls.

Each entry includes accessible information on the soldier including age and date of death, region and unit, and photograph in some cases.

The online list at 200.zona.media currently stands at 95,300.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP on Tuesday he was not aware of the publication and neither confirmed nor denied the toll.

"I don't know if it's true or not," he said, calling information on death tolls "the exclusive prerogative" of the defence ministry.

Russia rarely gives casualty figures for the conflict. The defence ministry said in September 2022 that 5,937 soldiers had been killed in combat.

At the end of 2024, then US defence secretary Lloyd Austin spoke of 700,000 Russian soldiers who were killed or wounded.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told US broadcaster NBC this month that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and around 380,000 wounded, while other estimates have been much higher.

Independent Ukrainian war correspondent Yuri Butusov said in December that his army sources estimated 70,000 dead and 35,000 missing.

'Foreign agent'

Mediazona was founded by Russian opposition activist Pyotr Verzilov, who helped form the Pussy Riot punk group and has fought on the side of Ukraine.

The site has been declared a "foreign agent" by Russia and Verzilov has been put on a list of extremists and convicted in absentia for allegedly distributing false information about the army.

The platform puts the Russian death total so far this year at 393 while it lists 26,102 death reports for 2024. 

But it says the real number of Russian deaths in the offensive must be much higher, since not all deaths are reported publicly.

In conjunction with the independent news site Meduza, it estimated this week that 165,000 Russians had been killed, based on its own list and an official register of inheritance proceedings.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

================================================================================================



France arrests two after arson attack on Russian consulate in Marseille


Europe

Two suspects were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of throwing explosives at the Russian consulate in Marseille, local prosecutors said. Russia said the "incident had the hallmarks of a terrorist attack".

Members of Marseille Naval Fire Battalion (Marins-Pompiers de Marseille) arrive at the Russian consulate in Marseille, after three improvised explosive devices were thrown, on February 24, 2025.
Members of Marseille Naval Fire Battalion (Marins-Pompiers de Marseille) arrive at the Russian consulate in Marseille, after three improvised explosive devices were thrown, February 24, 2025. © Miguel Medina, AFP

French authorities have arrested two people after improvised explosive devices were thrown at the Russian consulate in the southern city of Marseille, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The attack on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Monday did not injure anyone.

Police said three plastic soda bottles were lobbed into the consulate's gardens and only two exploded.

Moscow called it a "terrorist attack", while Paris condemned "any infringement of the security of diplomatic compounds".

The Marseille prosecutor's office said those detained were adults, but did not provide details.

Regional newspaper La Provence reported they were identified during a pro-Ukraine protest on Monday evening.

No one in the neighbourhood that AFP spoke to had heard any blast.

On February 24, 2022, Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded pro-Western Ukraine, setting off the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

================================================================================================



No comments:

Post a Comment