In three weeks of fighting in Ukraine, Russia has lost an estimated 7,000 troops, according to U.S. intelligence. That’s more than the …
In three weeks of fighting in Ukraine, Russia has lost an estimated 7,000 troops, according to U.S. intelligence. That’s more than the number of American troops lost in either the Afghanistan or Iraq war. Experts say this rate of casualties is unsustainable for the Russian army and is terrible for morale on the battlefield and at home. There are more than 150,000 total Russian troops involved in the war with Ukraine, and an estimated 14,000 to 21,000 are injured, a huge toll that is contributing to the stalemate developing as Ukrainian fighters halt the Russian advance. «You have to keep in mind this is not the Soviet Army of World War II that marched to victory over the bodies of its dead,» said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. «This is a much smaller army, mostly volunteers. It’s much more sensitive to casualties.» «Now they’re bringing in new units and they’ll bring in reinforcements, so that will mitigate some of the impact,» Cancian said.
