❗️'Since the beginning of the SMO the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost about 1 million people' – Belousov. 

Adding: ⚡️ Andrei Belousov thanked the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the President's Administration, the Federal Assembly, the Government, and Sergei Shoigu.

⚡️ Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov:

Esteemed President Putin!

I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for your constant attention to the issues of the construction and development of the Armed Forces and social security for servicemen and their families.

I would also like to thank the President's Administration, the Federal Assembly and the Government for their consolidated support for our work.

I want to express my gratitude for the joint work to our colleagues in the power block.

And, of course, I would like to sincerely thank Sergei Shoigu for creating a powerful foundation for the development of the Armed Forces.

Supreme Commander-in-Chief!

All the tasks you assigned will be accomplished. We will ensure the progressive development of the Army and the Navy and increase their combat capabilities.

The priorities for the Armed Forces will be discussed in the closed session of the Board.

Adding: 

The main points from Belousov’s statements at the Defense Ministry board meeting: 

➡️ During the entire special operation, the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amounted to almost 1 million people; in the Kursk adventure alone, the enemy lost more than 40 thousand soldiers;

➡️The Ukrainian Armed Forces control less than 1% of the territory of the LPR and 25-30% of the territory of the DPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions;

➡️The Russian Armed Forces firmly hold the strategic initiative throughout the entire line of contract; the average daily advance has accelerated significantly and is about 30 square kilometers;

➡️ The Russian Armed Forces inflicted significant damage on the Ukrainian military-industrial complex; the enemy has largely lost the ability to produce weapons, equipment and ammunition;

➡️ In the special operation zone in 2024, over 58 thousand units of weapons and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed, including 18 thousand of foreign manufacture;

➡️ The Russian Armed Forces will form a new branch of the armed forces - "unmanned systems troops" - and will complete their creation in the third quarter of 2025;

➡️ More than 427 thousand military personnel were recruited into the Russian Armed Forces in 2024, on average more than 1,200 people sign contracts per day;

➡️ Air defense systems have shot down more than 27 thousand UAVs this year;

➡️ During the special operation, air defense systems demonstrated high efficiency; this year, 86 Storm Shadow missiles and 215 ATACMS were shot down;

➡️The Russian Ministry of Defense plans to update the content of military registration specialties and modernize the system of military universities;

➡️In 2025, it is necessary to allocate an additional 149 billion rubles for housing subsidies for the military.