New Delhi: Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It has been almost 22 months, but the war is not over. It is obvious that the war that has been going on for so long has caused many casualties on both sides. Recently the US intelligence agency shared its assessment with the Congress (Parliament). This shows its serious impact on Russia’s military capabilities in the war against Ukraine.
315,000 Russian military personnel were killed or wounded.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, nearly 90 percent of Russia’s prewar army was lost to death or injury, with thousands of battle tanks destroyed. An assessment obtained from a congressional source shows that Moscow’s 360,000-strong army was launched to invade Ukraine in February 2022, but 315,000 Russian military personnel were killed or wounded in that period. This is 87 percent of Moscow’s pre-war army of 360,000.
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The tank force also suffered a setback
Apart from this, Russia’s tank force has also been hit hard. Before the war it had 3,500 tanks. But 2,200 of those tanks are either destroyed or missing. This is about two-thirds of the total number. Although it was already known that President Vladimir Putin’s army suffered significant losses in Ukraine. But this assessment provides new and detailed information about Russia’s military.
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The release of this assessment is critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington, where he continues to advocate for US military aid.
The source said the report also assessed that troop and tank losses by the Ukrainian military set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years. The Russian Embassy did not immediately comment on this.
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Tags: America, Russia, Russia Ukraine war
First published: December 13, 2023, 14:22 IST