'Burden On Russian Budget': Moscow Forcing Men From Occupied Cities To Fight Against Ukraine

Russia, which is reportedly facing significant losses in terms of soldiers and weapons, is allegedly replenishing its forces with men from recently occupied settlements.

According to the head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, occupiers are also sending miners to the front to fight against Ukraine.

"The occupiers do not count losses, because it is mostly the residents of the occupied territories who die. The Russians do not need them for the future, because for eight years the population of the "LPR" [self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic] has been a burden on Russian budget. Now these financial losses are being paid off by men," Serhii Haidai wrote on Telegram. "They have already mobilized everyone they could in the territories occupied in 2014. Now even indispensable miners are being taken away."

Haidai said these people are being forced to enlist in the military. About 80 men have already been sent to the front in Starobilsk this week, the head of the Oblast Military Administration reported, according to Pravda. These men are replenishing the composition of the assault groups, which are regularly being attacked by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Since the beginning of the war, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have killed 41,500 Russian military personnel, and have destroyed 1,789 tanks and 946 artillery systems. In the last 24 hours, 150 more Russian soldiers were killed by Ukraine's troops. Russians were forced to retreat with significant losses in 14 areas Wednesday, according to Haidai.

Meanwhile, Russian forces fired three rockets, used tubed artillery and rocket artillery five times each in the last 24 hours. The governors of Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk reported early Thursday their regions had been shelled overnight by Russian forces. However, no civilian casualties were reported, the governors said.

Russian troops carried out the military activity by firing from tanks, “barrel and rocket artillery” in several parts of the country, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported.

On Wednesday, Ukraine warned Russia could be preparing new offensive operations in the southern part of the country. The target during the new offensive could likely be President Vlodimir Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih – which was about 30 miles from the southern front line, Al Jazeera reported.