There is mounting evidence that Ukraine has been taking heavy casualties in its counteroffensive, which began roughly ten weeks ago.
ABC News spoke with two former U.S. soldiers who are contracted in a special forces division of the Ukrainian military and who were both injured during an operation in eastern Ukraine two weeks ago
The men said their team's mission was to seize control of a village on the outskirts of Donetsk city, which has been occupied by a Russian-controlled militia since 2014.
One of the men, a former U.S. soldier from Texas who goes by the callsign "Tango," said his unit of "dozens" of men took "85% casualties
据美国广播公司（ABC）报道，乌克兰展开反攻以来，有越来越多的证据显示乌军一直在承受大量的人员伤亡。ABC采访了几位最近在乌军反攻作战中负伤的西方国家士兵，据其描述，俄军的抵抗“非常有组织”，乌军未能充分发挥西方军援武器的潜力，伤亡惨重。
其中接受采访的两名前美军士兵与乌军的特种部队签约，两人均于两周前在乌东一次作战行动中受伤，目前正在基辅一家医院治疗，希望本周被转往德国动手术以清除身上的弹片。
据其透露，他们当时的任务是要夺取顿涅茨克市郊区一处村庄的控制权，而数十人的部队在推进到俄占区的时候遭遇埋伏，造成85%的人员受伤，其中40%受伤严重、无力再战，另有两名士兵死亡。
其中一位负伤的前美军士兵表示，俄军的抵抗“非常有组织”，“我们正在对抗的绝对是一支非常专业的部队”。
另有来自其他西方国家在乌克兰作战的士兵表示，乌军作战行动杂乱无章，“一天之内就折损了三辆德制豹型战车，因为部队被要求向前开进地雷区”。此外，因为“新动员的乌军士兵缺乏执行复杂攻击行动的必要训练”，美援M2布雷德利步兵战车等西方军事设备并未充分发挥潜力。
但尽管如此，受访的前美军士兵仍认为“战事进展顺利，正按计划进行”，因为乌军在前线遭受伤亡“是很正常的事”。