Russia-Ukraine war live: More Russian soldiers die seizing Avdiivka than in Soviet-Afghan war, experts say

Half of promised Western military support to Ukraine fails to arrive on time, complicating the task of military planners and ultimately costing the lives of soldiers, the country’s defense minister said Sunday.

Speaking at the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum in Kyiv, Rustan Umerov said that each delayed aid shipment meant Ukrainian troop losses, and underscored Russia’s superior military might.

Commemorations to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Saturday brought expressions of continued support, new bilateral security agreements and fresh aid commitments from Ukraine‘s Western allies.

But Umerov said they still needed to deliver on their commitments if Ukraine is to have any chance of holding out against Russia.“We look to the enemy: their economy is almost 2 trillion dollars, they use up to 15% official and non-official budget (funds) for the war, which constitutes over $100 billion dollars annually.

So basically whenever a commitment doesn’t come on time, we lose people, we lose territory,” he said.

Umerov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi toured front-line combat posts earlier Sunday amid a worsening ammunition shortage and dogged Russian attacks in the east.

They heard from front-line troops and “thoroughly analyzed” the battlefield situation on their visit, Syrskyi said in a Telegram update. He did not specify where exactly he and Umerov went, but said that “the situation is difficult” for Ukrainian troops and “needs constant control” along many stretches of the front.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine that would lead to a just and lasting peace, as the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion was marked a day earlier.

“So many victims, wounded, destruction, anguish, and tears in a period that is becoming terribly long and whose end is not in sight. It is a war that not only devastates that region but also unleashes global waves of hate and fear”, Pope Francis said during his weekly Angelus message.

“I plead for that little bit of humanity to be found to create the conditions for a diplomatic solution in search of a just and lasting peace”, he said.

Heads of the Group of Seven major democracies on Saturday pledged to stand by war-weary Ukraine, and Western leaders travelled to Kyiv to show solidarity on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

As we reach the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Askold Krushelnycky meets members of a battalion in eastern Ukraine using 3D-printed explosive casings to build ‘bomber’ drones to take out artillery, armoured vehicles and tanks

“We can fill them with more explosives, between 600 and 700 grams usually, enough to destroy or disable a light armoured vehicle. A tank is more difficult, but it can be done if the bomb is dropped in the right place. The explosive in anti-personnel versions can be surrounded by ball bearings or nails.”

As we walk, I notice that camouflage net coverings are draped across open walkways to prevent the base from being seen by the Russians. Drone operators on both sides of the war know they are each other’s new favourite target.

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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) claims Russian opposition media estimated that over 75,000 Russian personnel have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion in February 2022.

The Soviet-Afghan war of 1979 to 1989 claimed 15,000 Russian soldiers, according to Britannica.

Some 50% of Western arms deliveries to Ukraine do not arrive on time, Kyiv’s defence minister said on Sunday.

Rustem Umerov made the remark during a televised conference in Kyiv one day after Russia’s full-scale invasion reached its two-year mark.

Russia said on Sunday that its forces had taken more advantageous positions near Avdiivka and Donetsk after President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to push further into Ukraine after two years of full-scale war.

Russia’s defence ministry said its troops had pushed back Ukrainian forces near Klishchiivka, Dyleyevka and Kurdiumivka in the Donetsk region and taken better positions near Avdiivka which fell to Russia earlier this month.

“In the Donetsk direction, units of the Southern grouping of troops improved the situation along the front line and defeated formations of the 22nd, 28th and 92nd mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Klishchiivka, Dyleyevka and Kurdiumivka,” it said.

“In the Avdiivka direction, units of the Centre group of forces occupied more advantageous lines and positions, and also defeated manpower and equipment of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the 107th Air Defence Brigade.”

The ministry said Russian troops had repelled seven Ukrainian counter-attacks in the area. A total of 77 Ukrainian drones were destroyed, the ministry said.

Reuters was unable to immediately verify battlefield accounts from either side in the war.

Not a single weapon has crossed the border from Ukraine into the European Union during two years of Russia‘s full-scale invasion, Ukraine‘s interior minister said on Sunday.

Ihor Klymenko made the statement during a televised conference in Kyiv.

Ukraine tripled its weapons production last year and 500 companies are now working in the country’s defence sector, Kyiv’s strategic industries minister said on Sunday.

Kyiv is searching for ways to strengthen its defences against Moscow’s two-year-old invasion, including by boosting domestic arms production and innovation.

Oleksandr Kamyshin said during a televised conference in Kyiv that 100 state and 400 private companies were involved the effort, and that Ukraine this year plans “to considerably increase ammunition production.”

In a separate address, Ukraine‘s digital minister, Mykhailov Fedorov, said 90% of the drones used on the battlefield against Russian forces were produced in Ukraine.

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov visited command posts near the front line to analyse the battlefield and boost defences, the top general said on Sunday.

Kyiv’s military is struggling to stave off Russian forces along the sprawling front line as Moscow’s full-scale invasion passes its two-year mark.

“We analyzed the current situation in detail and discussed the necessary further steps, primarily the protection of troops from drones and strikes by aerial bombs as well as the strengthening of certain areas of the front,” Syrskyi posted on Telegram along with images of himself and Umerov meeting commanders.

Syrskyi, who did not say when the visit took place, added that “the situation is complex and requires constant monitoring”.

Russian forces last week captured the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka after a months-long assault and are pressing on several other areas along the front line, Ukrainian authorities say.