РУССКИЙ
11:54 22.11.2023 •
Photo: TASS
- Army General Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, made a statement at Defence Ministry Board Session on November 21, 2023:
The Russian Group of Forces continues to engage in active defence, confidently hold positions along the entire line of contact, gradually improving the situation. The enemy units are continuously inflicted with a fire defeat that prevents Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) servicemen from moving forward.
All attempts of the AFU to conduct landing operations in Kherson direction were unsuccessful. As a result of the preemptive and professional actions of Russian servicemen, Ukrainian Marines and Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian troops suffer enormous losses.
Since the beginning of the month [November], the enemy has lost more than 13,700 people, about 1,800 units of various weapons and military equipment.
Realising the futility of attempts to break through Russian defence, many Ukrainian servicemen surrender [as the POW].
In turn, Russian servicemen courageously act in the most difficult conditions of the combat situation and effectively perform tasks. Russian troops continue to reduce the offensive potential of the enemy in all directions.
Compared to the beginning of last year, there has been a 4.9-, 3-, and 16-fold increase in the scope of delivery of the main rocket and artillery weapons, armoured vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles to the Russian Armed Forces, respectively.
There has been a 12-fold increase in supplying weapons, and a 5-fold increase in supplying precision long-range missiles.
In the interests of the Special Military Operation, the tasks of the state defence order are updated regularly, two or three times a month, and the delivery of the necessary arms and hardware is monitored on a daily basis.
With a twofold increase in the volume of funding for the state order in relation to the basic indicators, the plan for the current year will be fulfilled by at least 98 per cent.
As a result of the additional budget allocations in 2024, the procurement and repair of weapons and military hardware will also be on the rise.
In the current situation, it is necessary to ensure the advance delivery of weapons, military and special hardware to the troops and to increase the production capacity of the defence industry enterprises to produce and repair the most demanded models.
We must be proactive in modernising existing weapons and developing advanced weapons, and then testing them in the Special Military Operation.
It remains a major task to maintain all components of the Strategic Nuclear forces in constant readiness.
Particular attention is being paid to building up naval strategic nuclear forces. The Navy has already received three of the latest Borei-A nuclear-powered submarine cruisers. The state trials of the strategic nuclear-powered submarine Imperator Aleksandr III, assigned to the Pacific Fleet, are about to finish.
The portion of current ships within the nuclear triad has reached 100%.
In addition, the submarine force is to receive this year three modern multi-purpose boats equipped with the Kalibr missile systems.
Another important mission is to build multi-mission ships with high-precision missile systems designed to defeat critical infrastructure and maritime targets, including aircraft carriers and surface action groups.
The frigate Admiral Golovko, which is to be equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles, is currently undergoing state trials.
By the end of the year, the number of long-range precision weapon carriers will exceed 40.
During the Special Military Operation, modern missile weapons proved highly effective. More than 270 missile strikes were carried out, striking more than 330 targets. This year there has been a threefold increase in supplying missiles for the benefit of the Groups of Forces located in new historic Russian areas.
- Washington has announced yet another military aid package for Ukraine worth around $100 million, after the Pentagon warned earlier this month that it was running critically low on funds allocated for Kyiv and would soon be forced to begin reducing the tranches.
US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the US had spent about 96% of the funds that had been allocated for assistance to Ukraine. Kirby said a lack of further major assistance from the US would have a disastrous impact on Ukraine's defense capabilities.
“We have had to meter out our support for Ukraine,” deputy Defense Department spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters earlier this month, adding that, although the Pentagon will continue sending military aid packages, they are “getting smaller.”
Bloomberg reported on November 18, citing a survey of US Congress members, that Kyiv would not receive new assistance from Washington until mid-December, possibly even until next year.
- Ukraine has maximized its mobilization, calling up for military service men aged 17 to 70 and also more women.
In October 2023, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that the number of female military personnel in the country had increased by 40% over the past two years to almost 43,000.
Women occupy almost half of the civilian positions in the Ukrainian army (48.2%). About 5,000 are in the combat zone.
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