General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine: Russian Occupiers Significantly Exhaust Their Human Resources

Russian occupation forces lost their offensive potential and were stopped in all directions in Ukraine. As of the morning of 18 March, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) continued to strike devastating blows at groups of enemy troops trying to consolidate and hold the captured defensive lines.

This was announced by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on its Facebook page.

“During the past 24 hours, Ukrainian defenders have partially destroyed and halted the advance of units of the 437th Training Regiment and the 26th Tank Regiment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, and the enemy’s losses are being clarified. Also, for the previous day, bombing and assault aircraft of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted heavy blows on the columns of enemy military equipment. Anti-aircraft missile forces and fighter jets hit 14 enemy air targets (7 planes, 1 helicopter, 3 UAVs and 3 cruise missiles),” the report reads.

The Ukrainian command emphasises that the occupiers have significantly exhausted human resources due to the large number of killed and wounded soldiers, cases of self-mutilation, in order to evade hostilities and psychogenic losses.

“The command of the armed forces of the Russian federation is forced to take extreme measures in matters of staffing. They are conducting covert mobilisation, attracting so-called “volunteers,” conscripts and cadets, as well as mercenaries from the Syrian Arab Republic,” the General Staff said.

In some temporarily occupied territories, the Russian occupiers are trying to create a positive image by distributing food to the civilian population. At the same time, they are actively searching for and detaining pro-Ukrainian activists, civil servants, members of the Anti-Terrorist Operation / Joint Forces Operation and members of their families, as well as other citizens who may organise resistance to the occupation.

In general, the low morale and psychological condition of the personnel of the occupying Russian troops leads to an increase in the number of desertions and refusals of servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian federation and mercenaries to take part in the war against Ukraine.

Bohdan Marusyak