Ukraine destroys Russian air defence system
Russia has lost 87 percent of the active-duty ground troops it had before its invasion of Ukraine, according to a US intelligence assessment provided to Congress.
A source familiar with the assessment told CNN that two-thirds of Russia’s pre-invasion tanks have also been lost.
But Vladimir Putin is still determined to push forward as the war approaches its two-year anniversary in February.
US officials have warned that Ukraine remains very vulnerable, as their highly anticipated counteroffensive has seemingly stalled this fall.
The assessment, which was sent to Capitol Hill on Monday, comes as Republicans have blocked a vote for additional US aid to Ukraine and the Biden administration has launched an effort to get the funding through Congress.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington on Tuesday to meet with lawmakers and President Joe Biden to appeal for more military and economic aid for Ukraine.
Despite heavy losses, Russia has been able to keep its war effort going by relaxing recruitment standards and using older Soviet-era equipment.
But the assessment still found that the war has “sharply set back 15 years of Russian effort to modernize its ground force.”
Russia has lost 315,000 of 360,000 troops that entered Ukraine on the battlefield, according to the assessment.
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In addition, 2,200 of 3,500 tanks have been lost, and 4,400 of 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers have been destroyed.
The assessment read: “As of late November, Russia lost over a quarter of its pre-invasion stockpiles of ground forces equipment.
“This has reduced the complexity and scale of Russian offensive operations, which have failed to make major gains in Ukraine since early 2022.”
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But possibly Ukraine’s largest obstacle right now is Senate Republicans’ stalling of a military aid package to Ukraine.
Some Republicans are insisting on making it part of a broader spending package to include money for Israel, Taiwan, and the US southern border.
President Biden said in a joint press conference with Zelensky on Tuesday: “Without supplemental funding, we’re rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine respond in the urgent operational demands that it has.
“Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine. We must, we must, we must, prove him wrong.”
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