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According to a recently declassified US intelligence report, the ongoing war in Ukraine has inflicted severe casualties on Russian forces, with an estimated 315,000 soldiers either killed or injured. This figure represents nearly 90% of the total Russian personnel at the start of the conflict, news agency Reuters reports quoting a source familiar with the intelligence report.
The report further suggests that the heavy toll on Russian personnel and armored vehicles has significantly hindered Russia’s military modernization efforts, setting it back by approximately 18 years.Despite requests for comment, there has been no response from the Russian embassy or the Russian defense ministry.
Despite the heavy losses, Russia has managed to sustain its war efforts by lowering recruitment standards and utilizing Soviet-era equipment. However, the conflict has significantly hindered Russia’s 15-year endeavor to modernize its ground force.
Russia has also increasingly relied on convicts recruited by the Wagner Group and raised the age limit for certain citizens to remain in the reserve of the Russian Armed Forces.
Russian officials have consistently disputed Western estimates of their military casualties, often claiming these figures to be exaggerated while alleging that Ukrainian losses, which they claim are substantial, are underreported.
This intelligence revelation coincides with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s urgent appeal to US lawmakers for increased military aid. During his visit to Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy encountered skepticism from some key Republican figures. In response, US President Joe Biden, in a subsequent news conference, reaffirmed America’s support for Ukraine and cautioned lawmakers against actions that could potentially benefit Russia.
However, some Senate Republicans are demanding that any additional funding for Ukraine be part of a broader spending package, including aid for Israel, Taiwan, and the US southern border.
Senator JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, told CNN: “The idea that Ukraine was going to throw Russia back to the 1991 borders was preposterous. So what we’re saying to the president and really to the entire world is, you need to articulate what the ambition is. What is $61 billion going to accomplish that $100 billion hasn’t?”
The source detailed that the US intelligence report found that Russia initiated its full-scale invasion with around 360,000 personnel. Since then, about 87% of these forces have been either killed or injured. These substantial losses have led Russia to lower its recruitment standards for troops deployed in Ukraine.
“The scale of losses has forced Russia to take extraordinary measures to sustain its ability to fight. Russia declared a partial mobilization of 300,000 personnel in late 2022, and has relaxed standards to allow recruitment of convicts and older civilians,” the assessment stated, as per the source.
Initially, the Russian army had 3,100 tanks at the onset of the war but lost 2,200 of them. To compensate, Russia has resorted to deploying T62 tanks from the 1970s, leaving only about 1,300 tanks currently in the field, according to the report.
While Kyiv maintains secrecy over its own military losses, citing potential harm to its war effort, a report by The New York Times in August, citing US officials, estimated the Ukrainian death toll to be close to 70,000. Additionally, Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Tynchenko and volunteer Herman Shapovalenko, writing in the Ukrainian journal Tyzhden, reported last month that Shapovalenko’s Book of Memory project had confirmed 24,500 Ukrainian combat and non-combat deaths using open sources, though they suggested the actual number could be higher.
(With inputs from agencies)
The report further suggests that the heavy toll on Russian personnel and armored vehicles has significantly hindered Russia’s military modernization efforts, setting it back by approximately 18 years.Despite requests for comment, there has been no response from the Russian embassy or the Russian defense ministry.
Despite the heavy losses, Russia has managed to sustain its war efforts by lowering recruitment standards and utilizing Soviet-era equipment. However, the conflict has significantly hindered Russia’s 15-year endeavor to modernize its ground force.
Russia has also increasingly relied on convicts recruited by the Wagner Group and raised the age limit for certain citizens to remain in the reserve of the Russian Armed Forces.
Russian officials have consistently disputed Western estimates of their military casualties, often claiming these figures to be exaggerated while alleging that Ukrainian losses, which they claim are substantial, are underreported.
This intelligence revelation coincides with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s urgent appeal to US lawmakers for increased military aid. During his visit to Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy encountered skepticism from some key Republican figures. In response, US President Joe Biden, in a subsequent news conference, reaffirmed America’s support for Ukraine and cautioned lawmakers against actions that could potentially benefit Russia.
However, some Senate Republicans are demanding that any additional funding for Ukraine be part of a broader spending package, including aid for Israel, Taiwan, and the US southern border.
Senator JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, told CNN: “The idea that Ukraine was going to throw Russia back to the 1991 borders was preposterous. So what we’re saying to the president and really to the entire world is, you need to articulate what the ambition is. What is $61 billion going to accomplish that $100 billion hasn’t?”
The source detailed that the US intelligence report found that Russia initiated its full-scale invasion with around 360,000 personnel. Since then, about 87% of these forces have been either killed or injured. These substantial losses have led Russia to lower its recruitment standards for troops deployed in Ukraine.
“The scale of losses has forced Russia to take extraordinary measures to sustain its ability to fight. Russia declared a partial mobilization of 300,000 personnel in late 2022, and has relaxed standards to allow recruitment of convicts and older civilians,” the assessment stated, as per the source.
Initially, the Russian army had 3,100 tanks at the onset of the war but lost 2,200 of them. To compensate, Russia has resorted to deploying T62 tanks from the 1970s, leaving only about 1,300 tanks currently in the field, according to the report.
While Kyiv maintains secrecy over its own military losses, citing potential harm to its war effort, a report by The New York Times in August, citing US officials, estimated the Ukrainian death toll to be close to 70,000. Additionally, Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Tynchenko and volunteer Herman Shapovalenko, writing in the Ukrainian journal Tyzhden, reported last month that Shapovalenko’s Book of Memory project had confirmed 24,500 Ukrainian combat and non-combat deaths using open sources, though they suggested the actual number could be higher.
(With inputs from agencies)
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