Numbers hardly capture the suffering of the people in Ukraine, but they too are an expression of a destructive war that has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The extensive destruction of the country is throwing Ukraine back years in its development. An overview.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he launched a war that resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of people, the destruction of entire Ukrainian cities and severe economic damage.
casualties in the armed forces
According to the latest estimates from Norway, 180,000 Russian soldiers were killed or injured in the fighting and 100,000 soldiers from the Ukrainian army. Other Western estimates place 150,000 casualties on each side. In comparison, the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989 cost the lives of around 15,000 Soviet soldiers.
civilian casualties
Overall, according to Western sources, between 30,000 and 40,000 civilians have died in Ukraine. At the end of January, the UN estimated that at least 18,000 civilians had been killed or wounded, but probably many more in the end. Most were killed by Russian bombing.
Ukrainian authorities say at least 400 children were killed. According to Kiev, 30 percent of Ukraine's territory is now mined. Human Rights Watch has accused Ukrainian troops of laying anti-personnel mines in the eastern Izyum region. According to experts, it could take decades to clear the landmines.
war crimes
EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders speaks of around 65,000 alleged war crimes registered so far. UN experts have accused Russia of committing "on a massive scale" war crimes in Ukraine, including executions, torture and sexual violence.
Kiev also alleges that Moscow has deported more than 16,000 children to Russia or regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Several NGOs have accused Ukraine of violating the rights of Russian prisoners of war.
Die Front
The "active" front runs about 1,500 kilometers from north to south, says the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valeriy Salushnyi. One of the focal points of the fighting is the city of Bakhmut, which many Ukrainian soldiers describe as "hell on earth".
Russian soldiers and mercenaries from the paramilitary Wagner group have advanced there in recent weeks. According to the Institute for War Studies (ISW) in Washington, Russian troops currently control about a fifth of Ukraine. However, according to Zalushny, the Ukrainian army has recaptured around 40 percent of the territory occupied by Russia at the beginning of the invasion.
ailing economy
During the winter months, Russia carried out targeted military strikes against Ukraine's power grid, which led to massive power outages and heating. The World Bank estimated in October that the country's economy shrank by 35 percent in 2022.
The Kyiv School of Economics KSE said in January it could cost $138 billion to rebuild infrastructure destroyed in the war. In agriculture, Ukraine, one of the world's breadbaskets, has lost $34 billion in economic losses, according to November CFE estimates. The EU and the World Bank estimate the total cost of rebuilding Ukraine at around $350 billion.
million refugees
According to the UNHCR, more than eight million Ukrainians have fled since the war began, most of them to Poland, where 1.5 million have found shelter. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 1.1 million Ukrainians have come to Germany since the beginning of the war, most of them women and children. Over 130,000 also returned. According to the UNHCR, more than five million Ukrainians have been displaced within the country. According to information from Moscow, five million people fled to Russia. The Ukrainian leadership accuses Russia of carrying out forced evacuations.
Western military aid
When Russia attacked Ukraine, the Ukrainian army had largely obsolete equipment from Soviet times. In the meantime, the USA has delivered HIMARS rocket launchers with a range of 80 kilometers, which are said to be superior to those of the Russian side.
In November, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy estimated that Ukraine's western allies had pledged nearly €38 billion in military aid up to that point. This does not include the tank deliveries announced in January by Germany, other European countries and the USA.
