Aha Dua Permata: Another US Mercenary Bites the Dust on Ukrainian Battlefield

Another US Mercenary Bites the Dust on Ukrainian Battlefield

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Last week, another US mercenary found out the hard way that traveling to Ukraine to fight on the side of the Kiev regime can drastically shorten one’s lifespan.

Ethan Hertweck, a 21-year old ex-US Marine-turned-mercenary from California, has been killed while fighting on the side of Kiev regime near Adveyevka, a city in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

The US gun-for-hire arrived in Ukraine in mid-2023 as an instructor with a Ukraine-based private military outfit called Trident Defense Initiative, only to be later spotted fighting as part of the 131st Recon Battalion.

Following the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict in February 2022, hundreds of mercenaries from North America and Europe flocked to Kiev’s banners, lured by the promise of blood money - heedless of Russia’s warnings that foreign mercs will return home in body bags.

Months later, the luckiest and smartest of these rent-a-thugs saw the writing on the wall and fled to wherever they came from, while many of the others met their end at the hands of Russian troops.

Watch Russian 'Natasha' Howitzer Hammer Ukrainian Militants

Whether they try to attack or retreat, one thing remains constant for the Kiev regime forces in the Ukrainian conflict zone: they incessantly get pounded by Russian artillery.

A short video shared online this week by the Russian Ministry of Defense offered a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of Russian artillery – a branch of Russia’s Armed Forces whose prowess became an unpleasant surprise for Ukrainian generals and NATO strategists.

The video features an interview with the commander of an artillery crew operating a howitzer called "Natasha" (named after the commander's wife) that recently wiped out several Ukrainian command posts and infantry units in the Kupyansk sector.

Ukraine loses 800 troops per day – ex-NATO officer

Around 800 Ukrainian troops are being killed and wounded daily amid the conflict with Russia, retired German Air Force Colonel and prominent military analyst Ralph D. Thiele has claimed, without revealing his sources.

This means that Kiev needs to recruit more than 20,000 soldiers every month in order to replace its dead and injured, Thiele, who, among other things, used to serve in the personal staff of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, stressed in an opinion piece for Focus magazine on Wednesday.

Ukraine also requires additional personnel to be able to rotate its troops on the frontline, so that “exhausted soldiers” may recover and units may replenish their material supplies, he wrote.

According to Thiele, who now heads the Political-Military Society, EuroDefense (Germany) and StratByrd Consulting think tanks, “the highly motivated defense” and the counteroffensive, which he described as “a thing of the past,” came at a “high price” for Ukraine.

Kiev’s manpower and hardware are “significantly worn out,” he said. “Western weapons systems are not miracle weapons and are wearing out,” the analyst added.

The worsening situation on the battlefield and decreasing Western support for Kiev are “eating away at the morale” of the Ukrainian troops, who “will have to save ammunition in a war of attrition and endure slaughter at the front without rest and without a greater sense of achievement,” Thiele stressed.

Russia has also lost “a large number of soldiers and huge amounts of material” during the conflict, but “it has much more of both than Ukraine,” he argued.

“Step by step, Russia’s superiority in the conflict with Ukraine is becoming more visible,” the analyst acknowledged. Moscow’s "strategy of attrition" is “taking effect” in terms of personnel, material, ammunition and morale, he said.

Thiele’s number of 800 Ukrainian soldiers being lost per day appears to be higher than the one announced by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu at the expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry’s Board on Tuesday. According to Shoigu, some 400,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded since the start of the fighting in late February 2022. This means that, according to Russian figures, Kiev’s daily losses stand at around 600 servicemen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who chaired the meeting, stressed that “we can say with confidence that our troops have the initiative” on the frontline with Ukraine. “In essence, we are doing what we consider necessary, what we want. Wherever… commanders decide active defense is best, it takes place. And where it is needed, we improve our positions,” Putin explained.