More than a quarter of Russian forces in Ukraine are out of combat, according to the British: ‘They transport their dead at night to hide losses’ | Ukraine and Russia war

The new reports are in line with previous reports from US and British intelligence that the Russians did indeed suffer heavy casualties in the war in Ukraine.

Elite units of the Russian army, such as the Airborne Forces, were also not spared. According to DI, “It will likely be years before Russia can return them to their full strength.”

The British Army estimates that a total of 15,000 Russian soldiers have already died in Ukraine. Double the number of injured. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry puts the Russian death toll at 24,200, according to figures released earlier today.

Ukraine recently reported that it destroyed several Russian command centers in the east and south of the country. In one of those attacks in the city of Izium, about 200 soldiers – including at least a brigade – are said to have been killed. However, this claim cannot be verified.

According to the Ukrainian security services, the Russians will also do everything in their power to cover up that they are already suffering heavy losses. They say they heard it in intercepted phone calls. The Russians carried their dead at night and in small numbers, so it would take longer for them to reach Russia. Half-decomposed corpses often have to be re-identified.

Russia itself is very secretive about the number of soldiers killed on its part. The last time the Department of Defense provided an update was on March 25. At the time, it reported that a total of 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed since the invasion of Ukraine and 3,825 had been wounded. The Kremlin later spoke of “significant losses” but did not share the numbers at the time.

Despite this, the Russians would still have a strong advantage over the Ukrainian fighters. The Pentagon confirmed this last week after a new analysis.

Russia plans to hold more than 500 prisoners of war on May 9