According to an estimate provided by the chief of the Norwegian army, the Russian-Ukraine war has claimed nearly a year's worth of lives, including 30,000 civilians, and left over 100,000 dead and wounded in the camp of the Ukrainian army, and over 180,000 dead and wounded in the camp of the Russian army. Since NATO's establishment in 1949, Norway, a country bordering Russia, has been a member.
"Russian losses are beginning to approach around 180,000 dead or wounded soldiers," in an interview with TV2, without specifying how the numbers were calculated by the Norwegian Chief of Defence, Eirik Kristoffersen said.
Over 100,000 people have probably died or been injured in Ukraine. The Norwegian general added that in this awful battle, over 30,000 civilians died in Ukraine. As of right now, neither Russia nor Ukraine have offered trustworthy accounts of casualties within their own ranks, instead choosing to downplay their own losses and exaggerate those of their rival.
For months, Moscow and Kyiv have not given accurate accounting of their losses. President of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Army, Mark Milley, stated in November that the Russian army had suffered more than 100,000 casualties or wounds and that the Ukrainian side had "probably" sustained a similar toll. It is impossible to independently verify these numbers.
Despite suffering significant losses, "Russia is able to continue (this war) for quite a long time," Kristoffersen asserted on Sunday, pointing to Moscow's mobilization and arms-producing capabilities. "What worries most is whether Ukraine is going to be able to keep the Russian air force out of the war," he added, also saying that they have been able to so far "thanks to Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses".
Long-range missile strikes have accounted for the majority of Russian attacks in recent months. The Norwegian general also demanded that combat tanks be sent to Ukraine as soon as possible, which has so far been hampered mostly by Germany.
The Norwegian army's chief of staff highlighted that it is crucial for Ukraine to be able to maintain keeping Russian aviation outside of the battle zone and to receive Western tanks, as the latter are urgently required to be able to conduct a winter counteroffensive.
Berlin declined to provide its Leopard tanks to Kyiv on Friday, despite urgent requests from Ukraine and numerous other European nations. Although Norway and other European countries also have these powerful tanks in their arsenals, German approval is theoretically required before they can be delivered to Ukraine.
