Pentagon officials believe that a large number of Russian soldiers killed in the war in Ukraine, which continues to grow , can destroy the desire to continue fighting.
This is reported by The New York Times, citing intelligence data and American officials.
Thus, according to “conservative estimates” American intelligence, in less than three weeks of full-scale hostilities in Ukraine, more than 7 thousand Russian soldiers were killed, and from 14 to 21 thousand were injured.
For comparison, this number of deaths is more than the total number of US military personnel who died over the course of 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At the same time, the sources emphasized that their data regarding the dead Russian invaders could be inaccurate. In total, according to the publication, more than 150 thousand military personnel are involved in the war in Ukraine from the Russian side.
According to US officials, the staggering number of battles killed in three weeks has a direct impact on the combat effectiveness of Russian units, including tank formations.
As noted in the publication, the administration of US President Joe Biden gets acquainted every day with intelligence reports on war in Ukraine. One of these reports spoke of low morale among the Russian troops.
“Pentagon officials say the high war death toll, which continues to rise, could shatter the will to continue fighting… One recent report focused on low morale among Russian military personnel. It described the soldiers as simply parking their vehicles and going into the woods, — writes the publication.
As Pentagon officials clarified in a commentary to the publication, a 10 percent casualty rate (including killed and wounded) for one unit makes it unable to carry out combat missions.
“Losses like this affect morale and unit cohesion, especially because these soldiers do not understand what they are fighting for,” said Evelyn Farkas, a senior Pentagon official during the presidency of Barack Obama, in a commentary to the publication.
< p>The publication notes that since the Russian ground forces are disorganized, the Kremlin has given orders to attack Ukrainian cities, residential buildings, hospitals and schools.
According to Pentagon officials, such bombing is aimed at “camouflage&# 8221; ineffective actions of Russian troops on the ground.
The publication recalls that Russian generals were killed during a full-scale war in Ukraine. According to Western officials, about 20 Russian generals arrived in Ukraine as part of the hostilities, likely to boost the morale of the Russian troops.
Two US military officials told the publication that many Russian generals talk using unsecured communications . According to them, in at least one case, the Ukrainian military intercepted the general’s call, determined his geolocation and attacked it, eliminating the general himself and his headquarters.
Recently, the Security Service of Ukraine informed that desertion among the Russian military becomes massive. The Russian invaders are already fleeing from the troops on their way to Ukraine.
According to the latest information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since February 24, the Russian army has approximately lost about 14,000 soldiers. In addition, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 444 enemy tanks, 1,435 armored combat vehicles, 201 artillery systems and other equipment.
