Ukraine Quotes Homer Simpson While Revealing 63,380 Russian Soldiers Have Died In War

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Wednesday used a quote by the cartoon character Homer Simpson while revealing Russia's military death toll in the war.

In a Twitter post, Ukraine's defense ministry said an additional 270 Russian soldiers were killed in combat Wednesday, bringing Russia's military death toll to 63,380. The announcement was coupled with the quote: "You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."

The quote was uttered by Homer Simpson in the 18th episode of The Simpsons' 5th season. In that episode, Mr. Burns, the main antagonist of the series, experienced a near-death experience and decided to hold an audition in hopes of finding his heir. Homer utters the quote after both his children, Lisa and Bart, fail to pass the audition.

In conjunction with the Ministry of Defense's announcement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) published a Facebook post where it noted that it is adjusting its estimation of Russia's military toll after receiving "refined intelligence data." The UAF General Staff said the estimates now account for the deaths of Russian soldiers between Feb. 24 to Oct. 12.

"Because of the constant update of refined intelligence data, there was a need to adjust some positions of the enemy's total losses. We publish the adjusted figures taking into account all currently available clarifications for the previous period from February 24, 2022," the UAF General Staff wrote. "Clarification is always a "minus" somewhere and a "plus" somewhere. Please understand this. Tomorrow, to these ALREADY ADJUSTED FIGURES, the losses of the enemy for the previous day will be added. Thank you for understanding."

In the ongoing war, Russia continues to hit multiple cities in Ukraine with a barrage of missiles in what President Vladimir Putin has described as a response to the bombing of a bridge in the occupied Crimean Peninsula. However, Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Despite the shelling, Ukraine said Wednesday it recaptured five more settlements in the southern region of Kherson. The newly-liberated settlements were Novovasylivka, Novogrygorivka, Nova Kamyanka, Tryfonivka and Chervone, RFE/RL reported, citing the president's office's daily report.