Russia has lost nearly 90 per cent of its total number of active-duty ground troops which it had before launching its invasion of Ukraine, reported the American media citing a declassified intelligence report by the United States. The report also comes as the Ukrainian president is in the midst of a visit to Washington and made a last-ditch plea for more military aid to US lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Russia suffers heavy losses
A report by Reuters citing a source familiar with the intelligence, on Tuesday (Dec 12) said that Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with 360,000 personnel.
Since then, according to the report at least 315,000 Russian troops, or about 87 per cent of the total number of troops have been killed or injured.
The report has attributed this staggering loss to the relaxed recruitment standards for deployment in Ukraine, the source told Reuters.
“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 source told the news agency.
However, these losses have not stopped Russian President Vladimir Putin who is determined to push forward as the war approaches its second anniversary early next year.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has warned American lawmakers about handing a victory to Russia and reaffirmed support for the war-torn country.
So far, the US has sent more than $100 billion in aid to Ukraine, and Republicans are sceptical about sending more aid to Kyiv.
“The idea that Ukraine was going to throw Russia back to the 1991 borders was preposterous,” JD Vance, a Republican senator from the US state of Ohio said on CNN’s State of the Union over the weekend, suggesting that Kyiv may have to cede land to Russia to end the invasion.
“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?” he added.
The Republican senator was referring to Biden’s broader $106 billion emergency spending package – which is pending approval from Congress – out of which $61 billion is allocated for military funds for Ukraine.
Russia lost thousands of tanks, armoured vehicles
The Russian army reportedly has lost two-thirds of its pre-invasion tanks, going as far as dipping into Soviet-era stockpiles of older equipment to keep up. The Russian army began the war with 3,100 tanks out of which they have lost 2,200, reported Reuters.
Moscow also has had to “backfill” that force with T62 tanks produced in the 1970s, leaving only 1,300 tanks on the battlefield, according to US intelligence. Meanwhile, CNN citing the assessment said that the war has “sharply set back 15 years of Russian effort to modernize its ground force.”
The American media outlet citing a previously declassified report said Russia seemingly believes that the military deadlock will last through winter and “drain” the Western support for Ukraine and “ultimately give Russia the advantage” despite heavy losses.
However, since neither Russia nor Ukraine released official figures, they could be far from accurate. Russian officials have previously dismissed Western estimates of Russian death tolls in the war and called them vastly exaggerated.
(With inputs from agencies)
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