Russia will ramp up strikes on Western weapons delivered to Ukraine, Defense Minister Sergei Shoiguย said Tuesday following the U.S. Congressโ€™ long-delayed approval of fresh military aid to Kyiv.

โ€œWe shall increase the intensity of strikes against logistics centers and storage facilities of the Western armament,โ€ Shoigu told the ministryโ€™s advisory board.

โ€œRussian servicemen [have] defused the myth of the Western weaponsโ€™ superiority,โ€ Shoigu said, adding that Russia would continue producing โ€œthe most in-demand weapons and military hardware in proportion to the threats posed by the United States and its allies.โ€

His comments came after the U.S. House of Representatives unblocked a $61-billion military aid package for Kyiv on Saturday following six months of political wrangling.

Shoigu described Washingtonโ€™s aid as an effort by the U.S. defense industry to profit off of Russiaโ€™s war in Ukraine and accused Washington of using Ukrainians to โ€œdie for its interests.โ€

In the more than two years since Russiaโ€™s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Shoigu claimed that Ukraine has lost โ€œalmost half a millionโ€ troops.

Russia has not disclosed its wartime casualties since September 2022. Independent Russian media has been able toย identify more than 50,000 Russian soldiers who were killed in Ukraine, but the real figure is believed to be much higher.


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