Russia has lost a staggering 87 percent of the total number of active-duty ground troops it had prior to launching its invasion of Ukraine and two-thirds of its pre-invasion tanks, a source familiar with a declassified US intelligence assessment provided to Congress told CNN.

Still, despite heavy losses of men and equipment, Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to push forward as the war approaches its two-year anniversary early next year and US officials are warning that Ukraine remains deeply vulnerable. A highly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive stagnated through the fall, and US officials believe that Kyiv is unlikely to make any major gains over the coming months.

The assessment, sent to Capitol Hill on Monday, comes as some Republicans have balked at the US providing additional funding for Ukraine and the Biden administration has launched a full-court press to try to get supplemental funding through Congress.

  • m-p{3}@lemmy.ca
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    7 months ago

    Russia had a total standing military of approximately 900,000 active-duty troops

    Of the 360,000 troops that entered Ukraine, including contract and conscript personnel, Russia has lost 315,000 on the battlefield, according to the assessment.

    So roughly 87.5% of the initial troops was lost, like the article said so that checks out.

    900,000 - 315,000 still means 585,000 troops remaining, and that’s outside the conscription efforts.

    Russia has announced plans to increase the size of the armed forces to 1.5 million.

    Still a considerable force, as long as the supply chain is able to back it up.

    • SCB@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      as long as the supply chain is able to back it up.

      The amount of heavy lifting this clause is doing cannot b overstated

      • Magnetar@feddit.de
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        7 months ago

        The thing is, Ukraine has no real possibility of interrupting the supply chain, since it doesn’t have the weapons to do so, or is not allowed to use on Russian soil in case of western weapons. All it can do is himarsing the last few dozens of kilometers around the front.

        And Russia can produce or dig up WW2-level shit from storage for a very long time.

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Russia hurts its own supply chain because the entire state apparatus functions via corruption at every possible level.

          Also Ukraine has absolutely already struck targets on Russian soil with US weapons.

          • Magnetar@feddit.de
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            7 months ago

            Not to my knowlege except for some very minor cases, like those incursions into Belgorod. GMLRS, ATACMS, Storm Shadow etc have exclusively been used inside (occupied) Ukraine, as far as I know. The long range drone strikes inside Russia are all claimed to have used only domestic Ukrainian weaponry. Can you give me a source?

            • SCB@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              I was wrong! They were formerly sovet ballistic missiles. I am less good at remembering missile names than I thought

    • Neato@kbin.social
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      7 months ago

      I can’t even imagine what 300,000 human corpses does to a place. How do you even manage that over a short period and fairly small location?

      • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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        7 months ago

        You build mobile crematoriums.

        Russian use of those is contested, but it is an efficient way to deal with a problem like that. There was some media buzz about those things about a year ago or so.