US Deliberately Overstates Russia’s Losses in Ukraine - Ambassador to US

This is to stir up public discontent in Russia, Anatoly Antonov said

WASHINGTON, March 31. /TASS/. The US Department of State deliberately overstates Russia’s losses in Ukraine to stir up public discontent in Russia, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told reporters on Wednesday.

When asked to comment on US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland’s statement that Russia’s armed forces have allegedly sustained considerable losses during the special operation in Ukraine, he said, "The US Department of State official deliberately overstates the Russian armed forces’ losses in Ukraine." "These statements are meant to hide a cynical scheme - to stir up public discontent in our country," the embassy quoted him as saying on its Telegram channel. "It won’t do."

According to the Russian diplomat, "the Russian leadership’s decision to conduct a special military operation enjoys wide support of the population." "People understand that it is about defending Russia’s national interests," he stressed.

First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Sergey Rudskoy said on March 25 that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 more had been wounded during the special military operation in Ukraine.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country.