- Dec 29, 2008
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Russia has likely lost half of its main battle tanks while fighting in Ukraine, a senior US defense official said Tuesday, adding that the Russian military will end up being weaker than it was before the war began.
Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "suffered a massive strategic failure" during his ongoing and unprovoked war in Ukraine.
Highlighting Putin's military setbacks, Kahl said that Russian forces have "probably lost half of their main battle tanks" and tens of thousands of troops in Ukraine, according to a Department of Defense report published Wednesday.
Kahl did not specify exactly how many tanks the Pentagon estimates Russia has lost, but according to open-source intelligence analysis by Oryx, at least 1,450 Russian tanks have been destroyed, captured, abandoned, or damaged over the course of the war. Notably, Russian troops fleeing Ukrainian battlefield advances have left behind modern T-90 tanks that Moscow considers to be among the most advanced in its arsenal.
Russia has, in turn, been forced to pull old and obsolete tanks from storage — like the Soviet-era T-62 main battle tank. This type of tank is decades old, can even be seen in some museums, and has long since been replaced by newer, more capable systems.
It's also unclear exactly how many casualties Russia has sustained in Ukraine, but losses are believed to be substantial.
No updated casualty figures have been provided since the Pentagon reported in August that as many as 80,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded in Ukraine. That figure was presented before Ukrainian forces launched two counteroffensives along the war's northeastern and southern fronts, moves which have seen Russian lines shatter and Kyiv liberate thousands of square miles of territory over the last two months.
Among the Russian war dead have been Russian conscripts and reservists who were recently rushed to the battlefield to reinforce crumbling Russian lines and stem Russian losses.
"Russia will emerge from this war weaker than it went in," Kahl said in reflection on Putin's overall war efforts in Ukraine.
Every day in every way Russia grows weaker and weaker.
Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "suffered a massive strategic failure" during his ongoing and unprovoked war in Ukraine.
Highlighting Putin's military setbacks, Kahl said that Russian forces have "probably lost half of their main battle tanks" and tens of thousands of troops in Ukraine, according to a Department of Defense report published Wednesday.
Kahl did not specify exactly how many tanks the Pentagon estimates Russia has lost, but according to open-source intelligence analysis by Oryx, at least 1,450 Russian tanks have been destroyed, captured, abandoned, or damaged over the course of the war. Notably, Russian troops fleeing Ukrainian battlefield advances have left behind modern T-90 tanks that Moscow considers to be among the most advanced in its arsenal.
Russia has, in turn, been forced to pull old and obsolete tanks from storage — like the Soviet-era T-62 main battle tank. This type of tank is decades old, can even be seen in some museums, and has long since been replaced by newer, more capable systems.
It's also unclear exactly how many casualties Russia has sustained in Ukraine, but losses are believed to be substantial.
No updated casualty figures have been provided since the Pentagon reported in August that as many as 80,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded in Ukraine. That figure was presented before Ukrainian forces launched two counteroffensives along the war's northeastern and southern fronts, moves which have seen Russian lines shatter and Kyiv liberate thousands of square miles of territory over the last two months.
Among the Russian war dead have been Russian conscripts and reservists who were recently rushed to the battlefield to reinforce crumbling Russian lines and stem Russian losses.
"Russia will emerge from this war weaker than it went in," Kahl said in reflection on Putin's overall war efforts in Ukraine.
Every day in every way Russia grows weaker and weaker.
