To divide
There are few certainties in Ukraine’s war. Ukraine has already published the number of Russian fighters in the country – but that too is not verifiable.
Kiev – According to estimates of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, in mid-May several hundred thousand Russians are mobilized in the war in Ukraine. Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov estimated the total number at 400,000 fighters. During an appearance on state television on Tuesday (May 16), he also provided a breakdown of various units and customers.
The purely military component consists of about 370,000 troops, Budanov said. There are also around 20,000 members of the Russian Guard, an elite paramilitary unit of the Russian Federation. Private groups provided nearly 7,000 more fighters. The latter includes the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. These data cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine gives numbers: 400,000 Russians in the country – but no personnel for the offensive?
According to Budanov, very few foreigners are fighting on Russia’s side. “They never bothered to let foreigners fight,” he said. “Instead, they took the approach of compensating the losses in Ukraine with prisoners.” Ukraine, on the other hand, apparently has some fighters without Ukrainian passports in its ranks – a former Bundeswehr soldier recently reported to Münchner Merkur about his experiences in the war. The mercenary group “Mozart” is also well known.
Images from the war in Ukraine: great horror and small moments of happiness
See photo gallery
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, the Russian armed forces currently do not have enough personnel to conduct large-scale offensives. Instead, the Russian military prepared to defend the conquered territories.
Russia’s losses in the Ukraine war: not sure
Ukraine estimates that Russian troops have lost nearly 200,000 since the invasion began in February. However, from the daily updated statistics of the General Staff, it is not clear whether this refers only to the dead or also to the wounded. Neither party to the conflict publishes actual numbers on troop strength or casualties.
However, there are certainly reports of recruitment attempts by Russia and its mercenary armies abroad. For example, there was speculation about recruitment measures in Afghanistan. Also on Tuesday, the independent portal Meduza also published a report on the recruitment of former IS fighters. However, these are apparently used off the battlefront in Ukraine – in infiltration attempts, for example, in Turkey and the US.
Ukraine also disclosed in detail the pay of its fighters in April. (dpa/fn)