Russia’s losses in the war against Ukraine reached 315,000 servicemen killed and wounded. This is about 87% of the personnel that the Russian Defense Ministry gathered for the invasion in February 2022, writes Reuters citing a declassified US intelligence report.
“The scale of the losses has forced Russia to take extraordinary measures to maintain its combat capability. Russia announced a partial mobilization of 300,000 people at the end of 2022 and relaxed standards allowing the recruitment of convicted and elderly civilians”, the U.S. intelligence notes.
The report also says Moscow’s losses in personnel and armored vehicles have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years.
According to US intelligence, the Russian Defense Ministry launched the invasion of Ukraine with 360,000 troops. The Russian army also had 3,500 tanks, of which 2,200 were lost on the battlefield. In addition, Russia lost 4,400 of its 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, accounting for 32% of losses, the report said.
At the same time, Russia continues to lose manpower and armored vehicles on a large scale. The day before, the US National Security Council, citing intelligence, reported that in October-November 2023, the Russian army lost 13,000 servicemen killed and wounded due to an active offensive in the direction of Avdiivka–Novopavlivka in Donetsk region. In addition, the Ukrainian army destroyed more than 220 units of Russian armored vehicles in this area.
In order to replenish the manpower at the front without announcing mobilization, the Russian authorities are recruiting contractors. Dmitrii Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council, claimed that from January 1 to December 1, 2023, more than 452,000 people have already been recruited for military service under contract, and by the end of the year their number will grow to 500,000.
However, despite claims of a large addition to the army, Russian authorities refuse to rotate and demobilize the 300,000 men drafted in the fall of 2022 as part of the mobilization announced by Vladimir Putin.
