WASHINGTON | Almost 80,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since the invasion of Ukraine began, Pentagon number three Colin Kahl said Monday, stressing that the goals announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin have not yet been achieved.
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“The Russians probably lost 70,000 or 80,000 troops in less than six months,” Mr. Kahl, deputy defense secretary for political affairs, told reporters, noting that that number covers the dead and wounded.
Russian forces also lost “3,000 or 4,000” armored vehicles and may be missing precision-guided missiles, including air-to-surface and sea-to-surface missiles, he added.
“It’s quite remarkable considering that the Russians failed to achieve any of Vladimir Putin’s goals early in the war,” the American official continued.
“They have made some progress in the East, although very little in recent weeks,” he noted. “But this came at an extraordinary cost to the Russian army because of the quality of the Ukrainian army and the international aid it has received.”
Mr. Kahl acknowledged that the Ukrainian armed forces also suffered heavy casualties without quantifying them.
Kyiv reported at least 10,000 dead and 30,000 wounded in its troops.
According to a military source who asked not to be identified, the Ukrainian army, which was strong at the start of the war on February 24 with 170,000 active soldiers and 100,000 reservists, has been reinforced to between 300,000 and 350,000 soldiers.
Before the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, some 150,000 to 200,000 Russian soldiers were stationed on Ukraine’s borders, according to Western estimates.