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.

    • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      That sounds like a Kremlin talking point

      Really? Because it seems like Russia would be more incentivized to have westerners believe that Ukraine will be just fine without U.S. aid.

      There’s a reason they’ve been fighting with shovels and rocks since then.

      You know that’s not literally true right? Otherwise Ukrainian casualties would be in the single digits…

      Is it possible you could spell out exactly what you think the U.S. and Ukraine should do? I genuinely cannot tell what point you’re trying to make here.

        • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          You’re starting to sound like a Russian bot…

          Well, considering that I very much support U.S. aid for Ukraine, I think I would be a pretty bad one.

          Edit:

          What about this story that says Russia has lost 87 percent of its troops?

          That’s not what the article says, silly goose

            • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              Every Russian bot says that though, but then they start saying ‘oh actually Western media is all lies and glorious Russia is totally winning the war!’

              Lucky for you, I don’t believe that either.

              Let me guess, it actually says that Russia is totally winning and actually not getting humiliated by Ukraine?

              No, it doesn’t; Russia is getting humiliated by Ukraine. But it also says they’ve expended only about 1/3 of their armed forces:

              Of the 360,000 troops that made up Russia’s pre-invasion ground force, including contract and conscript personnel, Russia has lost 315,000 on the battlefield, according to the assessment. 2,200 of 3,500 tanks have been lost, according to the assessment. 4,400 of 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers have also been destroyed, a 32 percent loss rate.

              Before the invasion, Russia had a total standing military of approximately 900,000 active-duty troops, including ground troops, airborne troops, special operations and other uniformed personnel, according to the CIA. Since the start of the invasion, Russia has announced plans to increase the size of the armed forces to 1.5 million. The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced several rounds of conscription, including its regular fall conscription cycle on October 1.

                • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
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                  11 months ago

                  I literally just quoted the article. Which side are you on? Is Western media trustworthy or not???

                  we only started sending untrained conscripts with one rifle per two men as a joke!

                  Ha, yeah, it’s wild that that’s happening. I don’t expect the last two thirds to be… competent, or well-equipped, FWIW.