NEW DELHI: A day after China said that disengagement of Indian and Chinese troops has begun on the southern and northern banks of Pangong Tso, a Russian news agency has claimed that at least 45 PLA troops had lost their lives in the violent face-off on June 15 last year at the Galwan Valley.
China has never publicly declared the number of casualties they suffered in the clash which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. “Chinese and Indian forces clashed in the region in May and June 2020, resulting in at least 20 Indian and 45 Chinese servicemen dead,” the agency, TASS, said in its article.
The Russian report is in line with some reports of June 2020, which had quoted some intelligence sources. However, China had termed reports putting the number of Chinese soldiers being killed in the clash at over 40 as fake news.
Three brawls took place between Indian and Chinese troops on June 15 after Beijing refused to withdraw heed the disengagement agreement. Nearly 10 months after the stand-off, the two sides have started pulling back. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the Chinese troops would pull back at a position near Finger 8 and the Indian side would be stationed at a post near Finger 3 area.