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On December 16th, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Minister of Defense Belousov attended the meetings of the Board of the Ministry of Defense, summing up the interim results of the ongoing Special Military Operation in Ukraine.
- The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation liberated the area of about 4, 500 square kilometers and 189 settlements this year. The rate of advance of the Russian military now averages about 30 square kilometers per day.
- This year alone, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine exceeded 560,000 soldiers killed and wounded. The total Ukrainian losses amounted to almost 1,000 000 servicemen. The Ukrainian military lost more than 40,000 soldiers in the Kursk region alone.
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine are forced to go on the defensive and use reserves, the staffing of Ukrainian units on the frontlines does not exceed 45-50%.
- In 2024, Russian air defense shot down 86 Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles, 215 ATACMS, 1629 HIMARS rockets and more than 27,000 drones.
- Over 427,000 servicemen signed contract and entered service with the Russian army in 2024. More than 1,200 people sign a contract every day.
- Compared to 2022, the supply of upgraded tanks has increased 7 times, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers 3 times, unmanned vehicles 23 times, artillery ammunition 22 times. Currently, Russian troops use more than 3,000 drones every day, and their number is constantly growing.
- The Russian Defense Ministry should be ready for any development of the situation, including a possible military conflict with NATO in Europe in the next decade.
Putin and Belousov once again announced Moscow’s conditions for the start of negotiations:
- The realities on the frontlines should be taken into account, that is, four former regions of Ukraine within their borders from 2014 should be considered the Russian territory.
- The points of the thwarted Istanbul Agreements that include “denazification, neutralization, demilitarization” may worsen for the Ukrainian side. If Ukraine refuses to negotiate, the agreement conditions will worsen in the future.
- If Kiev refuses to negotiate, it will achieve its goals militarily and the Ukrainian positions on the frontlines will worsen.
