Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs: The amount of Russian weapons and military in the Donbas is shocking
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, stated that up to one thousand artillery systems, more than 400 tanks, and 200 rocket launchers were sent to the Donbas by the Russian Federation.
He said this during Senate hearings at a meeting of the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, as reported by UNIAN.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that the hybrid war conducted by Russian against Ukraine is reflected in the shocking number of Russian weapons deployed in the occupied Donbas and the Crimea.
“We are talking about 4,200 regular troops and up to 40,000 militants. There are more than 400 tanks and 800 armored vehicles. And there are more about a thousand artillery systems, more than 200 rocket launchers, and about 23,000 troops in the occupied Crimea,” Klimkin said.
He noted that at the UN International Court of Justice, the representative of the Russian Federation made a completely ridiculous statement, saying that the Russian-backed militants in the Donbas found all of these weapons, which had allegedly been hidden in old Soviet mines.
The Minister also said that the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine over the past three years has led to the occupation of 7.2% of Ukraine’s territory, and nearly 10,000 Ukrainian people – both military and citizens – have lost their lives. He also added that about 23,000 Ukrainians have been wounded.
Earlier, in statements at the UN International Court at The Hague, Russia asserted that the reasons for the events in Eastern Ukraine were an “overthrow of power” and a “coup” and accused Ukraine of not upholding the Minsk agreements.