As many as 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in war with Russia, says Zelensky aide

A top advisor to Ukraine's beleaguered president Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that as many as 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia launched its military operation in the country nine months ago. 

Mykhailo Podolyak was quoted as saying by Ukraine's Channel 24 on Thursday that they have official information from the army's general staff, which suggests that the death toll varies between 10,000 and 13,000.

“We have official figures from the general staff, we have official figures from the top command, and they amount to (between) 10,000 and 12,500 to 13,000 killed,” Podolyak announced.

“We are open in talking about the number of dead,” he added, saying more soldiers had been wounded than had died.

The number of military casualties has not been confirmed by the country's armed forces and Podolyak said Zelenskyy would make the official data public “when the right moment comes”.

In June, as Russian forces were making rapid territorial advances and seizing control of the easternmost region of Lugansk, Zelensky claimed that Ukraine was losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day, putting the toll at the time at 500.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also said in September that 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed in the protracted military conflict.

Russia launched the military operation in Ukraine in late February, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of what he called a “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

Since the operation was launched, Western allies of Kiev have supplied sophisticated weaponry to Ukraine, a move that Russia has repeatedly warned would only prolong the simmering war.

The United Kingdom has so far emerged at Ukraine's most dedicated and steadfast arms supporter after the United States.

Europe ‘not strong enough’, Finnish PM says

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Friday that Europe was “not strong enough” to stand alone against Moscow in a completely honest assessment of Europe's capabilities in the face of the military conflict in Ukraine.

The leader of the suspended NATO member said on a trip to Italy that the military conflict in Ukraine revealed Europe's weakness and strategic mistakes in dealing with Russia.

She told Sydney's Lowy Institute think tank that Europe was not strong enough at the moment and would have a lot of problems without the United States.

Marin emphasized that Ukraine should be given everything it needs to win the war and added that the United States currently plays a key role in providing arms and financial aid to the embattled Ukrainian government.

"We have to make sure that we are also building those capabilities when it comes to European defense, the European defense industry, and making sure that we could cope in different kinds of situations," she said.

Italy approves extension of military support to Ukraine throughout 2023

The Italian parliament has passed a resolution authorizing the government to continue to help Ukraine, including via military aid, throughout 2023.

Since joining the EU in 2004, countries such as Estonia and Poland have urged other EU members to take a tougher stance on Putin, but France, Germany, Italy, and Greece, which favored closer economic ties with Moscow, have opposed the request.

"We should have listened to our Baltic and Polish friends much sooner," Marin said. "For a long time, Europe was building a strategy towards Russia to closen our economic ties, to buy energy from Russia... we thought that this would prevent a war."

Washington approves $380 million missile sale to Finland

The US government on Thursday agreed to sell 380 million dollars of Stinger portable anti-aircraft missiles and some other war equipment to Finland.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement that it would enhance Finland's defense and deterrence capabilities.

The announcement came more than 9 months into the military conflict in Ukraine with Finland and Sweden intensifying their NATO membership bid.

The US State Department approved the possible sale of the military equipment and the DSCA on Thursday notified Congress that the deal should be signed.

Italy renews Ukraine arms supply law for 2023

Meanwhile, Italy's new far-right government issued a decree on Thursday to continue sending military weapons to Ukraine until 2023, continuing the previous government's policy of supporting Kiev.

According to a statement from the Italian government, the order extends the current authorization for the transfer of military equipment, material and equipment to Ukrainian public authorities until December 31, 2023.

Since taking office in October, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has repeatedly expressed her support for Ukraine, while also stressing the importance of the Atlantic alliance.

Her predecessor, Mario Draghi, was a staunch supporter of Kiev, but the issue of arms and military aid to Ukraine divided the largest party in the country's parliament under her coalition government, the Five Star Movement.

The friction led to a snap election that brought Maloney to power. Currently, the parliament has 60 days to turn the decree into law.

Despite Meloni's efforts to assure her Western allies of Italy's full support for the EU and NATO's strategy towards Ukraine, including the continuation of Russian sanctions, her two coalition partners' close ties with Russia have come under scrutiny.

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