Russian troops increasingly hospitalized with frostbite, Ukraine’s General Staff says
Russian occupiers end up in hospitals en masse with frostbite (Photo:REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
The number of cases of frostbite among invading Russian troops has significantly increased since January due to their inferior winter clothing, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said in its morning Facebook report on Feb. 13.
"In medical institutions of Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast, the number of patients with this diagnosis is up to 30 percent of all wounded," the message said.
On Feb. 12, British intelligence reported that over the past fortnight, Russia has probably suffered its biggest losses since the beginning of the full-scale war.
As well as weapons and ammunition, Ukraine’s military allies have provided winter gear for Ukrainian soldiers as part of their aid to Kyiv to help it fight off Russian aggression.
In contrast, Russia’s large force of mobilized soldiers – hastily called up in late September to stave off Ukrainian counter-offensives – is poorly armed and equipped, with soldiers in many reported cases having to rely on gear sent from relatives.
While temperatures in Ukraine have regularly dipped below freezing in recent weeks, in general the winter here, as in the rest of Europe, has been mild. This has meant that the Kremlin’s campaign to destroy civilian power, heating and water supplies has been less effective than it had expected.
It also means that the Kremlin’s attempt to blackmail Ukraine’s European allies by withdrawing gas supplies has backfired spectacularly – European countries built up gas stocks, diversified supplies, and reduced gas usage amid moderate winter temperatures.
Meanwhile, Moscow has lost its biggest market for gas.
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