Russia MoD unveils tally of 31st day of war in Ukraine
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As the war in Ukraine enters its second month, Russian armed forces state that the fight is concentrated on liberating Novomikhailovka and Novobakhmutovka.
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More than 1,300 Russian servicemen have been killed.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated, on Saturday, that the Russian armed forces are fighting to liberate Novomikhailovka and Novobakhmutovka, targeting strongholds and reservists.
Earlier, Russia's armed forces announced the completion of the "first stage" of their mission in Ukraine, according to a statement made by a top Russian military commander.
Colonel General Sergey Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian military’s Main Operational Directorate, told reporters during a briefing that Russia has reached its objective for the first portion of its military operation in Ukraine, and said that the armed forces will now devote its full attention to Donbass, adding that the Ukrainian armed forces' combat potential "has been significantly reduced."
On March 25, Kalibr missiles destroyed a warehouse containing ammunition and weapons in Ukraine's Zhitomir region, the Russian Defense Ministry added.
An "Onyx" cruise missile has also destroyed a fuel base in the Nikolaev region, supplying fuel to a group of Ukrainian troops in the country's south, according to the tally.
Russian air defenses shot down two Ukrainian Su-25s and one Su-24, as well as six drones over Vishnevo, in addition to destroying a tactical Tochka-U missile complex in the air over the village of Vasilievka.
It is worth mentioning that the Russian Defense Ministry announced, on Friday, that more than 1,300 servicemen have been killed and nearly 4,000 injured.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has sustained heavy casualties - around 30,000 - till now, with nearly 14,000 Ukrainian troops killed and 16,000 have been injured, the ministry added.
Russia had for months been warning of the threat posed against it by NATO's attempts to expand eastward, which happened simultaneously with an increase in NATO military activity along Russia's borders, and batches of lethal weapons being sent to Ukraine, prompting Russia to request security guarantees from the West. Washington failed to provide the guarantees.
After the West did not respond to Russia's demands, and amid Ukrainian shelling on the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, President Vladimir Putin initiated a special military operation in Ukraine. Russian officials have stressed that their objective is the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
