Russia has suffered staggeringly high losses, according to a US report
Russia’s attack on eastern Ukraine this fall and winter was aimed at undermining Western support for Ukraine, according to a recently released US intelligence report.
The action resulted in heavy casualties but did not lead to strategic gains on the battlefield for Russia, said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
Since the start of the war, Russia has suffered a staggering number of losses, according to another recently released report. At the start of the war, the Russian army numbered 360,000 men. Russia has lost 315,000 of these troops, forcing them to recruit and mobilize new recruits and convicts from their prison system.
According to the assessment, Moscow’s equipment was also crushed. At the start of the war, Russia had 3,500 tanks but lost 2,200, forcing the country to bring 50-year-old T-62 tanks out of storage.
The assessment shows that the Russian losses have reduced the complexity of Russia’s recent military operations in Ukraine.
“The war in Ukraine has sharply reversed fifteen years of Russian efforts to modernize its ground forces,” the released assessment said. “By the end of November, Russia had lost more than a quarter of its pre-2022 stock of ground troops and suffered losses among its trained professional army.”
In the latest attack, Russia suffered more than 13,000 deaths and injuries and lost more than 220 combat vehicles in fighting near Avdiivka and other towns, Ms. Watson said.
Russian troops had hoped for a quick breakthrough, but were met with fierce Ukrainian resistance. Ukraine has moved troops from the south to reinforce its forces in the east. Although Ukraine has also suffered damage, its losses are not as great as Russia’s, U.S. officials say. U.S. officials say casualty figures on both sides of the conflict are estimates. Moscow is believed to routinely underestimate its war dead and wounded, and Kiev does not release official figures.
The information was released as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited Washington to help emphasize that his country needs more U.S. help to defend against the ongoing attack.
The White House is asking for $50 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine. But many conservative Republicans are skeptical about the country’s ability to win the war and want major changes to U.S. border security policy as part of a funding deal.
Ms. Watson said Russia’s pressure is tied to funding debates in Congress. The declassified intelligence assessed that Russia “appears to believe that a military standoff over the winter will remove Western support for Ukraine,” Ms. Watson said.
Russia, Ms. Watson said, is still short of soldiers and weapons but is pushing into eastern Ukraine despite losses, hoping to gain an advantage.
Russia is closely watching the debate in Congress, Ms. Watson said. Other U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports agreed, saying that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia believes he is beginning to see success in his strategy of waiting out the West.