Russia lost almost 90 percent if pre-war troops in Ukraine
- 13 December, 07:02
Russia has lost around 90 percent of troops it had before the start of the war in Ukraine, a new congressional source said on Tuesday.
Some 315,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or injured since Russia launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the source informed, citing a declassified US intelligence report. This number would account for 87 percent of Moscow’s prewar force of 360,000. The report also claimed that the conflict in Ukraine "has sharply set back 15 years of Russian effort to modernize its ground force." To make up for its losses, Russia has resorted to desperate measures, such as conscripting released prisoners and sending them to the front, it added.
The document emerged as the Ukrainian President visited Washington on Tuesday to convince Congress to vote for a bill on $61bn for Ukraine. Republicans have been increasingly skeptical about continuing military aid to Ukraine and have demanded securing the southern border of the United States first. Zelenskiy met with Congressmen before his meeting with President Joe Biden. During the scheduled meeting, Biden assured Zelenskiy that the US would continue to support Ukraine. This was Zelenskiy’s third official visit to Washington since the war with Russia began.
